A Dino Destiny
by mykkila09
Summary: Sequel to Healing a Broken Crane; AU of the Dino Thunder series. summary inside
1. Mission Done Right?

**Setting: **Dino Thunder; starts with the 'Moon Mission' and continues on through DT.  
**Story Summary: **Through unexpected situations, some of the former rangers are called back to action. They did their duty and life went on, but trouble stirs as a former ranger stumbles across a new power source. With the help of friends—near and far—they will create and mentor three teens into becoming the newest members of the ranger family. This is the story of the Dino Thunder Rangers.  
**Chapter Word Count: **12, 602

**A/N: **hey guys, this is the sequel to _Healing A Broken Crane. _It took a while to get out, but it's here and I hope you guys like it. So, enjoy.

**A/N 2: **The chapters will be based on the episodes of DT—some will be joined—but they will not directly follow the storyline. Basically, it's me twisting the storyline of DT and seeing how it could've happened.

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban. I am not making any money from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"Speaking"  
_"Speaking over the phone"_  
_'Thinking'_

* * *

"Kim," Tommy called out to his fiancée as he stood near the door. "We're gonna be late."

"No we're not Tommy," Kim yelled from the bedroom. "So hold your horses."

Tommy shook his head with a chuckle. "That woman is lucky I love her so much."

"What was that?" Kim asked as she walked out of the bedroom. She was wearing a jean skirt that ended about an inch and a half from her knees, a pink and white spaghetti strap top, with a white jacket and pink flip-flops. Her hair, which was slightly longer, falling to rest just at her waist, was done in huge curls.

"Nothing," Tommy smiled as he looked her over; he loved her so much, more than anything, and he truly couldn't imagine his life without her. "You look amazing Beautiful."

"Thanks Handsome," Kim smiled as she walked up to him and kissed him. When she pulled back, she ran her hand through his hair. "I still can't believe you got a haircut; I'm going to miss the long locks."

"Me too," Tommy said. He had gotten his hair cut just after their graduation a few weeks ago. He had gotten an offer to work with famous archaeologist Anton Mercer and he had decided that if he was going to be doing professional work and be out in the sun all day, then his hair needed to go….much to the disappointment and the shock of Kim and his friends respectively. When he had told them he was being serious, they had decided to film the entire thing claiming it was the end of an era and they needed to document it, much to his embarrassment.

"But I have to admit," Kim smiled. "I'm growing to love this new look on you."

"Yeah?" he smiled down at her.

"Yeah," Kim bit her lip as she smiled back. "On you, the short and spiky look is sexy."

"Really?" he asked as he pulled her close. "How sexy?"

"Very," Kim smiled before she pulled his head down and kissed him.

"I thought you guys were getting ready to leave?" an amused voice asked from the doorway. The two pulled away and saw Jason, Trini and Aisha standing there; it was Jason that spoke.

"We are," Tommy smiled at them.

"Looks to me like you were making out," Aisha winked at them.

"Shut up 'Sha," Kim laughed. "What are you guys doing here?"

"You didn't think we'd let you leave without stopping by did you?" Trini asked as she walked into the apartment.

"How silly of me to think that our vacation was ours alone," Kim retorted dryly, much to the amusement of the others. "And besides, I would think that the mini party you guys gave us a few days ago _was_ your goodbye."

"It's nice to see that you understand," Jason smiled even as he shook his head.

"So what?" Aisha grinned. "You really didn't think that that party was a real goodbye?"

"How could I think that?" Kim could only laugh as she looked at her friends. The past four years had been good to the former rangers; the only bad thing they had to deal with was Zordon's death; something that had hit all of them hard, Kim understandably being the worst.

"I'm surprised that the others aren't here as well," Tommy said as he brought the last of their bags from the bedroom.

"They would've," Trini answered as she took a seat on the couch. "But they all had things to do and they didn't want to overwhelm you guys."

"Since when?" Kim snorted as she headed into the kitchen. "You guys want anything to drink?"

"Whatever you got," Aisha replied as she sat down next to Trini. "So where's Hayley? I expected her to be here."

"Trust me," Tommy shook his head with a smile. "She wanted to, but she had some last minute dealings to do with a former professor, I think."

"I bet she was pissed about that," Jason smiled as he leaned against the couch.

"Yes she was," Tommy answered. "Because she won't see Kim until we come back."

"That's understandable seeing how close Kim is to her," Aisha shook her head. They had met Hayley just after Christmas break in their freshman year at UCLA; she was sharing a class with Kim and Kim, being the friendly person that she was, had invited the girl to hang out with her. Hayley, not used to having friends, was reluctant but Kim wouldn't give up and had kept at it until Hayley finally give in and until the red head had felt comfortable enough to be around them. By the time their junior year came around, Hayley was official one of them and was as protective of Kim as the others were, which was no surprise as Hayley herself had confessed that Kim was her first true friend.

"How close who is to Kim?" Kim asked when she came back into the room with three soda pops. She handed them off and leaned against Tommy who was sitting on the arm of the single seat chair.

"Hayley," Trini answered. She smiled up at her best friend and little sister.

"Oh," Kim giggled. "She was a little pissed that she couldn't stop by, especially since she had missed the going away party you guys threw a few days ago; she called me this morning and she said she would make it up to me when we got back, I told she didn't have to, but…"

"We know how Hayley is," Jason laughed. "So have you guys finished all your packing?"

"Just about," Tommy answered. "All I have to do is back check everything and then we're good to go."

"Alright," Aisha smiled. "So, are you guys excited about this trip?"

"Of course," Kim smiled. "I searched on the internet and the resort looks very beautiful; I can't wait to get there."

The friends talked a bit more, before Tommy realized they'd have to leave soon. Saying their goodbyes, Jason and the others left, while Kim gathered the rest of their bags and took them out to the car; they had decided to take Tommy's jeep since it had more room.

"Ready Beautiful?" Tommy called out to Kim.

"Definitely," Kim smiled and Tommy closed the door behind him before walking out to the car.

"Alright," Tommy smiled over at her as he started the ignition. "Let's go."

The car ride was slightly long, but the two spent it talking with each other. Before they knew it, they were pulling into the parking space of the resort.

"Wow," Kim said as she stepped out of the car. "This place is beautiful."

"Hello," a young guy walked up to them. "Welcome to Paradise."

"It most certainly is," Kim nodded as she looked around; it truly was beautiful and she found herself falling in love with the place.

"Come on," Tommy said. "Let's go check-in."

"Alright," Kim nodded before grabbing her bags from the car; the two held hands as they walked into the resort. They headed over to the check-in counter to confirm their reservations and collect their keys.

"Hi," Tommy said. "I have a reservation for two under Oliver."

"Alright," the clerk said before checking the computer. "Got right here; you're in room 214. Enjoy your stay." The clerk said as he handed them their room key.

"Thank you," Tommy nodded.

"We will," Kim smiled before turning with Tommy; they grabbed their bags and walked over to the elevators. After pressing their floor number, the two held onto each other. "I'm so glad we decided to come here."

"So am I Beautiful," Tommy smiled down at her. "It's nice to have a few days to ourselves."

"I understand completely," Kim smiled. The elevator dinged as it stopped on their floor and the two walked out. They went down the hallway, looking for their number. When they found it, Tommy took the key from his back pocket and opened the door.

"Whoa," Kim breathed as she took in the room. "It looks amazing." She took a step forward, but was stopped by Tommy's hand on her arm. "What is it?"

"Humour me," Tommy smiled before placing their bags just inside the door and lifting Kim in his arms into the bridal hold. "I know we're not married yet—

Kim cut him off with a kiss. "I know," she smiled. "This is just one of the reasons why I love you."

"I love you too," he kissed her before stepping over the threshold and into the room. He walked over to the couch and placed on her on it and walked back to get their bags and close the door.

"Alright," Kim said. "Let's check this place out."

"Sounds good," Tommy smiled. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her from the couch and the two walked through their room; they saw that they had a poolside, as well as an amazing view of the mountain side, turning away from the view, they continued their mini tour. They went to the bathroom next and was in awe of it; the shower was actually and tub and shower in one and was big enough to fit two people, the floor was done in flower-patterned tiles as were the walls, there was a his/her sink as well as his/her towels.

"I wonder if I can take this bathroom back with us," Kim mused.

"And where exactly would you hide it?" Tommy asked with a laugh.

"I'll have Billy or Andros teleport it out of here," Kim said in a 'so there' tone.

"You do that Beautiful," Tommy laughed. "And I'll be sure to visit you in either jail or the Looney Bin."

"I won't be in either," Kim shook her head.

"Oh?" Tommy raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"You wouldn't let that happen," Kim said with a knowing smile.

"You're right," Tommy shook his head. "I wouldn't; Come on, let's go check out this resort."

"Ok," Kim smiled as he grabbed her hand and led them out of the room. Grabbing their room key as they passed the table, Kim laughed as Tommy shook his head and pulled her out the door. As they walked down to the corridors towards the elevators, they passed a few couples on their way. Getting on the elevator, Kim snuggled up to Tommy and smiled as his arms went around her. A few minutes later, the elevator dinged to let them know it had reached the bottom floor. Stepping off, they headed out to the pool area. Kim pulled out of Tommy's arms as they walked as she wanted to take in the entire view.

"Oh my God," Kim said. "This is so beautiful."

"Not as much as you," Tommy smiled at her.

"You're such a sap," Kim teased; she might call him that, but it didn't mean that she didn't love hearing him say those things…it made her feel more special.

"I know," he said. "But I can't help it."

"I don't mind," Kim shrugged. "Come on; let's check out the bar."

"Alright," he nodded and the two walked off in the direction of the bar, which happened to be out by the pool. They got there and were looking out around when they heard their names.

"Tommy? Kimberly?" a voice behind them said.

They turned, only to be shocked when they saw Skull standing there.

"Skull?" Kim's eyes ran over him in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"I…uh…I own it," Skull said with a nervous smile. "Me and Bulk actually."

"What?!" Tommy's eyes practically bulged out of his head when he heard that. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Skull nodded. He looked over the two and was slightly shocked to see that they didn't really look any different from high school; Kim's hair was longer, but she was still beautiful. His eyes drifted to Tommy and they grew wide with shock when he saw that instead of the shoulder length dark hair, they were now short and spiked.

"What the hell happened to your hair?"

Kim giggled while Tommy groaned before answering. "You know Anton Mercer, right?"

"Is he that dig guy?" Skull asked. "The one that digs up old bones?"

"Yeah that's him," Tommy nodded. "He chose me and one other person to go on a dig with him and that's in a few weeks, so I cut my hair off for it."

"The others gave him a lot of smack for it," Kim laughed. "They even video-taped it."

"I would've too," Skull laughed. "And I have to say, I'm glad; I was always jealous of your hair in high school, so seeing you without it makes me feel good."

"Glad to hear that," Tommy said dryly, which caused Kim and Skull to laugh again. "So how are you man?"

"I'm ok," Skull smiled.

"Any girls?" Kim asked. She knew how obsessed he was with her in high school.

"Actually," Skull smiled. "I'm married and we have a one year old son."

"Wow," Kim smiled at him. "I'm happy to hear that." She was glad to see that he was finally over his obsession with her.

"What about you two?" Skull looked between them.

"Engaged," Kim held up her left hand to show the ring that was sitting there. "He proposed at the after party of our graduation a few weeks ago."

"Congratulations," Skull nodded. "It doesn't surprise me about the two of you; even in high school, I knew the two of you were meant to be."

"Then why did you hate me so much?" Tommy asked; he didn't mean anything by, he was just curious.

"I didn't truly hate you," Skull shook his head. "Remember, I was obsessed with Kim, even though I knew she wouldn't ever go out with me, and then you came along and you "saved" her from us that first day. I knew then that the two of you would end up together and I was right. I was angry because I thought I should've been the one to be with her, but even still, I was glad that you had her, because I knew that you would treat her the way she deserved to be treated…like a princess."

"Oh Skull," Kim whispered before she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Still ever a gentleman…thanks."

"No problem," Skull said as he tried hard to stop the blush from coming over his face; just because he was over his obsession and he was married, didn't mean he would stop liking her.

"So," Tommy said. "How did you and Bulk come to own this place?"

"After we graduated high school," Skull said. "Bulk and I tried out for the AG Police Academy. You remember how we were?"

"Yeah," Tommy laughed.

"Yeah well," Skull laughed. "We didn't really change until that first training; after that, we realized that we couldn't keep clowning around, so we, well, for lack of a better word, we wised up. We became serious, but we quit the team and decided to go to the community college.

"We took business classes and after we graduated, we had decided to help out Ernie for a bit. A few months after college, we took a vacation and we met the previous owner. He was trying to sell it and we struck a deal and got it for a really good price and the rest as they say is history."

"Wow," Kim looked at him in amazement. "Skull, I'm so proud of you guys; graduating college, growing up and now this place, which is amazing by the way; you guys did well."

"Thanks," he smiled at her.

The three talked a bit more before Skull went back to work and Kim and Tommy walked around some more. Just before sunset, they made it back to their room.

"What do you say to dinner on the balcony?" Tommy turned to her.

"That sounds great," Kim smiled. "I'll go take a shower and you can order room service."

"Alright Beautiful," Tommy nodded. While Kim headed to the bathroom, Tommy headed to the phone. He sat down on the bed and picked up the phone.

"Hi, I would like to order some room service," he said. He ordered a meal for the two of them before hanging up. Twenty minutes later Kim came out of the bathroom to see Tommy fixing their dinner for them. The two shared a smile before they sat down to eat. When they were finished, Tommy took a shower and then the couple snuggled down on the bed to watch TV.

~…~

A few days passed and Kim and Tommy were having the time of their life. They had explored the resort and had also spent some time catching up with Bulk and Skull.

Right now, Tommy was sitting near the pool, shades on his face as he read a magazine. He was just turning a page when a shadow fell over him.

"Excuse me," a voice said. "You have a phone call."

He looked up and saw Skull standing there holding a phone in his hand.

"Thanks man," Tommy smiled up at him before he took the phone. "This is Tommy."

"_Tommy, Andros here…we have a problem."_

Tommy's brow furrowed as he listened to Andros. "Are you sure?"

"_Positive," Andros replied._

"So what's the plan?" Tommy asked; a feeling of dread was building in the pit of his stomach. It grew as he listened to Andros explain what was needed to happen. "When do you need me there?"

"_As soon as possible," Andros replied. _

"Alright," Tommy said. "Give me a few hours; I'll get in contact with Jason and Rocky."

"_Alright Tommy," Andros said. "See you guys soon."_

"Bye," Tommy said as he hung up the phone. He got up from the lounge and headed to the bar. He motioned for Skull to come to him and he gave him back the phone. "Thanks man."

"No problem," Skull said. He paused as he saw the distracted look on Tommy's face. "Is everything ok?"

"I hope so," Tommy said even as he shook his head. "Hey, I've got to go. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Skull said and he watched as Tommy walked away.

~…~

Tommy went back to his room in a slight daze. What Andros had told him had shaken him up and he had no idea how things had happened. He also knew he had to call Jason and Rocky to let them know what was going on; one thing was sure, they wouldn't believe him.

"Shit," he sat up suddenly. "What the hell am I going to tell Kimberly?"

Tommy groaned as he fell backwards on the bed; he never liked lying to Kim, one reason being was, he never could pull it off. She always knew when he was lying to her and with the connection that the two had between them, it was even worse. He was thankful that their spirit animals had become quiet after they had finished with their ranger career. Zordon had explained to them that because they were done with the ranger world, their spirit animals were satisfied that they were safe and in no immediate danger, so they had returned to their resting place deep inside of them.

He sat up on the bed and took a look around the room before he got up and started packing his stuff. He knew he couldn't leave without saying anything to Kim, but he also knew he couldn't face her without telling her what was going on. He didn't want to tell her anything, but he had made a promise to her and he had no intention of breaking it.

Grabbing a paper from the desk, he searched for pen, finding one seconds later. He wrote a note to Kim and placed it on the pillow. He sighed before he grabbed his bags and left the room. He made his way to the elevator, praying to God he wouldn't run into his fiancée. He let out a sigh of relief when he made through the lobby without seeing her. He got outside and headed to his jeep; throwing his stuff inside, he started the jeep and pulled out of the parking lot.

~…~

Kim sighed as she made her way back to the room. She walked by the pool, looking for Tommy and not seeing him, she went over to Skull who was wiping down the counter.

"Hey Skull," she smiled at him.

"Hi Kim," he smiled back.

"Have you seen Tommy?" Kim asked.

"He got a phone call ten minutes ago," Skull told her. "I think he went back to your room."

"Alright, thanks," Kim said as she turned away and headed to their room. When she got there, Tommy was nowhere to be found. She moved through the rooms, her brows furrowed as she wondered where her fiancé was. She came back into the bedroom and saw the note lying there; she picked it up.

_Beautiful,_

_One of the guys is having a problem and he asked me for help. I am sorry for leaving on our vacation and especially without telling you more, but it sounded serious. Hopefully everything will be ok and over quickly without too much problems. I'll call you when we're done. Please don't be too mad._

_Love,  
Tommy._

Kim sighed and shook her head with a smile as she thought on her fiancé. She knew he thought she would be mad, and while she was a little irritated, she still loved his helpful nature and knew the guys wouldn't have called unless they really needed him.

"Well," Kim said as she placed the note down, "doesn't make sense to waste the remaining two days of this vacation."

She went to the bathroom to take a shower, planning on spending the night dancing before she had to go to sleep.

By the time mid-afternoon of the next day rolled around, Kim was ready to go home. She had gotten a call from Tommy earlier that morning saying that things were taking longer than he expected, and now she was sitting out by the pool missing him fiercely. They hadn't really been apart since high school, and she knew it was good for them to spend at least some time away from each other, but she couldn't help it. By the time night rolled around, she had made her decision and was in her room packing her bags.

The next morning, knowing Tommy had taken his jeep, she went to the front desk to ask for information on getting a taxi; getting a taxi place, she called for a cab. Ten minutes later, one showed up and she was making her way back to Angel Grove, unaware of what was waiting for her there.

~…~

When Tommy had left Kim, as he was driving back to town, he pulled out his cell phone and dialled Jason's number.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey bro," he said. "What are you doing?"

"_Nothing much man," Jason replied. "What are you doing calling me for? It's your vacation."_

"I know," Tommy sighed. "But something came up."

"_What's going on Tommy?" Jason sat up straighter._

"Are you alone?" Tommy asked.

"_Yeah," Jason said. "Tri went to the mall with Aisha and the other girls."_

"Good," Tommy sighed. "We have a big problem."

"_What's going on?" Jason asked._

Tommy explained everything that Andros had told him.

"_So how is this going to go down? Jason asked when he was done._

"Only the red rangers," Tommy said, "from you up to the newest one."

"_Alright," Jason nodded. "When do we leave?"_

"I'm on my way back into town," Tommy said as he passed a car. "He wants us to meet at the NASADA Space Base tomorrow."

"_Alright, Jason nodded. "I'll talk to Rocky, let him know what's going on and we'll meet you guys there. I assume Andros will have everything worked out power wise?"_

"Yes," Tommy nodded, forgetting that Jason couldn't see him.

"_Alright," Jason said. "I'll see you tomorrow then."_

"Bye," Tommy hung up the phone and sighed. "Why now?"

~…~

The next morning, Tommy had called Kim. He had told her things were taking longer than he expected and after telling her he loved her, had hung up. He had met up with Jason and Rocky at his and Kim's place last night when he got back into town and the two had spent the rest of the night contacting the rest of the former rangers.

Today, they were all going to meet at the hanger of the NASADA Space Base to go over everything. Jason and Rocky had told Trini and the others they were going on a camping trip together and the only reason they hadn't called the other boys was because they wanted it to be a type of red ranger male bonding macho ritual; they were lucky the others hadn't questioned them even more.

Tommy sighed as he closed and locked the door to his apartment behind him. He walked out to his jeep and got in. He pulled out of the parking lot and started the long drive. As he drove down the freeway, his thoughts drifted to his fiancée; he knew she would be beyond pissed off if she ever found out what he was actually up to and he prayed she never did…at least, not for a years, if ever.

Hours later, he pulled into the hanger and after showing ID to the guard, he drove up. He saw the other vehicles and smiled to himself. He got out and walked over to them.

"Hey guys," he said as he walked up.

"Tommy," Carter Grayson, the red ranger from Lightspeed Rescue was the first to say hi. "What's going on, man?"

"Yeah," Wes Collins, the red Time Force ranger, added. "What was with the cryptic message?"

"I think I can explain everything," Andros said as he joined them. "But first, how about some introductions?"

"Carter Grayson," he said. "I was the Lightspeed Rescue red ranger."

"Wesley Collins," Wes went next. "Time Force red ranger."

"Eric Meyers," the guy standing next to Wes spoke. "I was the Quantum Time Force ranger."

"Leo Corbett," he said when Eric was done. "Lost Galaxy red ranger."

"TJ Johnson," he was standing next to Andros. "Second red TURBO ranger."

"Andros from KO-35," Andros said after TJ. "Red Space Ranger."

"Cole Evans," a guy with a head band spoke. "I'm the Wild Force red ranger."

"Tommy Oliver," Tommy said. "Red ZEO ranger and the first red TURBO ranger."

"Man," Cole looked over at Tommy in awe. "You're like a ranger legend."

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck while the others laughed at him in the background. "I wouldn't go that far."

"Are you kidding me?" Cole said. "You've—

"Where are the other two?" Andros cut Cole off when he saw that he was about to go into hero worship.

"I would've thought they'd be here by now," Tommy sighed as he answered.

"Who are we waiting for?" Cole asked.

"The first and second red rangers," TJ answered; he was wondering where they were, as he had thought they would've been there. He and the other former TURBO and Space rangers had kept in touch with the original rangers throughout the rest of the high school career and even after…especially when they had lost the Space powers.

"I guess they're not coming," Andros said and he was a little disappointed. He had gotten to know the former rangers after the Space rangers defeated their villain and they had returned to Earth to recuperate for a little while. "Let's go in guys and I'll explain everything better."

The rangers turned and was about to go inside when they heard the sound of an engine coming up the road. They turned back and saw a red jeep approaching. It parked next to Tommy's jeep and the occupants got out.

"I know you guys weren't thinking of doing this without the first two reds?" Jason asked as he and Rocky walked over to the group.

"They wouldn't do that," Rocky smirked.

"You just had to make an entrance, didn't you?" Tommy asked even as he shook his head at the two of them.

"Of course," Rocky said before he looked at the others. "Rocky DeSantos, second red Morphin' ranger and red Ninja ranger."

"Jason Lee Scott," Jason said. "I'm the original red ranger."

"Whoa," Cole's eyes went wide as he looked at Jason. "You're the first of us…the start of it all." Without warning, he was suddenly standing in front of Jason, holding his hand in a tight handshake. "Cole Evans; I'm the red Wild Force ranger."

"I'm guessing you're the newbie," Jason said as he shook Cole's hand. His eyes went wide when Cole nodded enthusiastically. The others laughed at him in the background, Tommy especially.

"Yeah," Cole's eyes gleamed bright with pleasure. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," Jason said; he shifted awkwardly when he realized that Cole still had a hold of his hand. With a little bit of subtlety, he pulled his hand from Cole's.

"Wow Jase," Rocky smacked him on his shoulder.

"Shut up," Jason glared half-heartedly at him.

"Guys," Tommy chuckled. "Let's go so Andros can explain everything."

"Sounds good to me," Wes said, and with that, the nine of them made their way inside.

"Wait," Leo spoke up when they were inside. "What about Aurico?"

"I'm right here," a voice said behind them. They looked up and saw another red ranger standing there.

"I thought you wouldn't make it," Andros chuckled.

"I did," Aurico nodded. "So, what's going on?"

Making sure he had everyone's attention and there was no chance of anyone overhearing, Andros told the rest of them what was going on. By the time he was done, they were looking at him in shock.

"Are you kidding me?" Eric asked.

"I'm afraid not," Andros shook his head. "They want us to destroy Serpentra before the zord gains anymore power and attack Earth."

"When do they want this to happen?" Carter asked.

"As soon as possible," Andros answered.

"What about powers?" Leo asked. "In case you hadn't noticed, only one of us here has power and that's Cole."

"I was wondering about that," Tommy said.

"Already have that covered," Andros said. "With the help of DECA and a certain former ranger, I was able to infuse the morphers with enough power for one last morph. After that, they will be useless once more."

"Who's the former ranger?" Rocky asked.

"I'd rather not say as of yet," Andros said. "But you guys don't have to worry; I trust him explicitly to do what was required."

Tommy and Jason exchanged looks; there was only one former ranger that they knew could do this kind of work and who Andros would trust so much.

"When do we leave?" TJ asked.

"DECA is on standby to teleport us to the ship," Andros answered. "From there, we will make our way to the moon where we will morph before we go out."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Carter nodded.

"Let's go then," Leo said.

"Wait," Eric stopped them. "Aren't you guys forgetting something really important?"

"What's that?" Cole's brows furrowed as he asked.

"What the hell are we going to tell the girls?" Eric demanded.

All the guys, with the exception of Aurico, Tommy, Jason and Rocky, paled; Cole just looked confused.

"Oh shit," TJ groaned. "I completely forgot about that."

"I told Kendrix I was going flying to get some air," Leo said and his voice was slightly shaky. "She's going to want to know why I took so long."

"Delphine and the others know I left," Aurico shook his head. "There was no way I could keep it a secret, especially from Delphine."

"What's going on?" Cole asked. "Why are you guys so scared?"

"You'll learn," Tommy said.

"Just tell them you're away on business," Rocky suggested. "Jase and I told Trini and Aisha we were going camping."

"I told Kim you guys needed my help with something and it was taking longer than I expected," Tommy said. "Now, if we can get this thing over with before she finds out, that would be great."

"Look," TJ said. "We can't really do anything now; so why don't we just go ahead and get this over with and get back as soon as possible."

"Alright," Andros nodded before he raised his wrist to his mouth. "DECA?"

"_I read you Andros."_

"Lock to our signatures and teleport us," Andros said.

"_Signatures locked on. Teleporting now."_

~…~

When the light cleared, the boys found themselves in the control room aboard the ship.

"DECA," Andros said. "Set a course for the moon."

"_Course set."_

The boys talked quietly with each other as DECA made her way to the moon's vicinity. For TJ, Tommy, Jason and Rocky, it was catching up for them, while it was a getting to know one better for the others. Before they knew it, they were at the moon.

"Alright guys," Andros said as he got up and walked over to a space on the wall. It opened and he pulled out a case; when he opened it, it had nine morphers inside. "Here you go."

"Oh man," Jason said he held his morpher. "You got to let me say it."

"Say what?" Cole asked.

"Go for it," Tommy laughed.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Jason shouted and one by one, the guys called out their powers. When it was done, nine red rangers stood there, suited up.

"Let's do this," Tommy said as Andros brought out gliders for them to use.

"And no funny business," Jason as he turned his head to look at Rocky.

"Hey!" Rocky said.

"Let's go," Leo said. The rangers got on the gliders and left the ship, heading in the direction of Zedd's old zord.

~…~

After Jason and Rocky had left this morning, Trini had decided to call up the girls to spend the day together. Tanya couldn't make it as she was working and Hayley had said she was running errands and wouldn't join them until later. The three girls were sitting at a table at Ernie's talking when she saw six girls come through the door.

"What are they doing here?" Trini asked as she looked at them.

"Who are you talking about?" Aisha asked.

"Them," Trini gestured to the girls, who saw made their way over to them when they spotted her.

"What's going on?" Kat asked when she saw Ashley, Cassie and four other girls, one in white, two in pink and the other in yellow, walk over to them.

"Do you know where they are?" One of the girls in pink asked as she folded her arms.

"Where who is?" Aisha asked. "And who are you?"

"I'm Kendrix," the girl said. "And this is Delphine."

"We've met," Kat smiled at Delphine. "I'm Katherine and this is Aisha and Trini. Now, who are you talking about?"

"She's talking about the guys," Cassie said "more specifically, the former red rangers."

"Tommy's on vacation with Kim," Aisha answered. "And Jason and Rocky are on a camping trip."

"Is that what they told you?" the girl in yellow snorted.

"Who are you?" Kat asked.

"Taylor Earhardt," the blonde answered. "And this is Alyssa Enrilé."

"Hi," the girl in white waved.

"Guys," Ashley said. "I wish this was a social call, but it isn't."

"Ash, what's going on?" Trini asked. "And why did you want to know where the guys were?"

"Because," Taylor said. "Wherever they told you they were, they're lying."

"And you know this how?" Aisha raised an eyebrow.

"Because I know where they are," Delphine said.

"And where are they?" Trini asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

"They are more than likely at the moon," Delphine said to the shock of the three girls.

"What?!" Kat, Trini and Aisha yelled. Ernie, hearing the shout, came out.

"What the hell are they doing at the moon?" Aisha near shouted.

"They can't be at the moon," Trini said calmly though her eyes were filled with anger. "Tommy wouldn't bail on his and Kim's vacation and Jason would not lie to me…he knows better."

"What's going on guys?" Ernie asked as he neared their table.

"Ernie," Trini spoke between gritted teeth as she ignored his question. "Do you think we could use the youth centre this afternoon? There's going to be a ranger gathering and this is the only place big enough to hold all of us."

"You can't say that in front of him," Alyssa looked between Ernie and the girls.

"He knows," Ashley assured her. "He's known for years now."

"Sure Tri," Ernie nodded. "What did the guys do?"

"Something stupid," Aisha hissed. "And they're going to pay for it."

"Man," Ernie shook his head. "You'd think they'd learn. Yeah, you guys can use it. I'll start herding everyone else out now."

"Thanks Ernie," Kat's smile was forced as she too tried to control her anger.

Ernie nodded and walked away to ask the other customers to leave because of an emergency. While Taylor and Alyssa took seats, Trini started pacing.

"Those assholes," she ranted. "I cannot believe they did that."

"Who all is involved?" Aisha asked with narrowed eyes.

"All the reds from Jason up to Cole," Taylor said before she gestured to Alyssa. "He's our leader."

"Do the other girls know about this?" Kat asked.

"No," Kendrix shook her head. "Delphine called and we started talking and she mentioned that Aurico had left, saying that he had to help the other reds. She asked if Leo had left as well, but I told her he was still here. Imagine my surprise when I realized that Leo was actually nowhere to be found."

"We found out from our mentor," Taylor said. "She didn't want to tell us, but she did."

"We found out by accident," Cassie said. "Ash had noticed that Andros was working on something, but she wasn't sure what. So, she called Lost Galaxy and got Kendrix who told her about Leo and Aurico."

"Then we got a call from a Princess Shayla," Ashley said, "and that's when Taylor and Alyssa told us what was going on. So we called back Kendrix and told her what was up."

"Maya was out," Kendrix said. "So I called Delphine back and told her what Aurico was really up to. We decided to meet with them and then we hooked up with Taylor and Alyssa."

"Get in contact with the other girls," Trini said, "and the team members as well."

"I'll call Hayley and our boys," Aisha said as she pulled out her phone.

"I'll get Tanya," Kat said as she pulled out her own phone to call her friend.

"The boys are going to regret ever doing this," Trini vowed and looking at her, Taylor felt proud that she was part of the Yellow legacy.

~…~

When Kim got back into Angel Grove, she went directly back to her and Tommy's place. After paying the taxi, she got her bags and headed inside, unloading them in the bedroom. She fixed something for her to eat and sat on the couch in front of the TV. Within minutes, she started yawning and fell asleep.

When she woke a few hours later, it was almost sunset. Taking a look at the clock, she took a quick shower before deciding to see what her friends were up to since Tommy wasn't there. Grabbing her cell phone, she scrolled through until she found Trini's number.

"Hey," she said. "Where are you?" pause. "Ok, I'll meet you there."

~…~

After Ernie had cleared the youth centre, the girls hadn't wasted any time in contacting the other girls. Kendrix was wearing a communicator, allowing her to call Maya and Karone as well. Taylor was able to call the other guys on her team and told them to call Dana and Kelsey and have them contact her as she needed to talk to them. Ten minutes later, she explained the situation and both girls were on their way.

Half an hour later, Karone and Maya showed up, but they weren't alone; with them were the other boys of their respective teams.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ashley asked.

"Do you really think," Carlos asked as he walked over to his friend, "we'd let something like this go? The guys are in trouble and I want to be here."

"Same here," Zhane smiled as he walked over.

Trini was still pacing and Aisha and Kat gave a small smile. The guys from their own team had shown up, with the exception of Billy. The boys had stopped by for lunch when they saw the girls. After getting the story from them, they had decided to stay.

Twenty minutes later, Dana and Kelsey showed up, but following them were the rest of the guys from LSR.

"Seriously?" Alyssa asked.

"Yes," Ryan nodded. "It's not often Carter does something idiotic; when it happens, I like to be there for it."

"We have to go," Taylor said as she stood up.

"Why?" Zack asked. "You'll miss all the excitement."

"Our team is on call right now," Alyssa said. "Danny, Max and Princess Shayla are the only ones there. If anything happens, they will need our help."

"Alright," Aisha nodded. "Thanks for telling us."

"No problem," Taylor said, "just give them hell. I know I will."

"Alright," Kat nodded and the two girls left. Seconds later, Hayley and Tanya walked in.

"Whoa," Hayley said as she looked around before she made her way to Trini and the others. "Who organized a convention without telling me?"

"What's going on?" Tanya asked.

"Sit down," Kat said. They did as they were told and listened to Kat; minutes later, the two, were as angry as the other girls.

"Tell me we're going to confront them?" Maya questioned as she looked around at the others.

"Oh we're definitely going to confront them," Trini growled and the others flinched, even the rangers that did know her. She paced for a few minutes before she paused. "On second thought, _we _are not going to confront them."

"What?" the others exclaimed.

"Then who is?" Kelsey asked.

Trini smiled and the boys flinched; it was not a friendly one. "Someone who will scare the boys more than either of us ever could."

"Who could that be?" Dana asked; she didn't know of anyone the boys feared.

"Are you thinking of who I'm thinking?" Aisha asked; when Trini nodded, she smiled as did Kat and Hayley.

"Who are you thinking of?" Kai asked.

Before Trini could answer, her phone rang. She grabbed it from her purse and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hello?"

"_Hey," Kim said. "Where are you?"_

"I'm at Ernie's," Trini said. "I'm with Aisha and Kat and some others; why don't you come down?"

"_Ok, I'll meet you there," Kim said before she hung up._

"Tri," Zack asked. "Who was that?"

"Kim's going to meet us in a few minutes," Trini answered.

"Oh man," Adam groaned. "I am so glad I am not one of the others right now."

"Who's Kim?" Mike asked.

"Kim," Tanya answered with a smile, "is the original pink ranger and out of all of us, she's the one that the guys are completely scared of."

"Wait," Dana said. "Kimberly Hart? They're afraid of her? How?"

"What's so special about her?" Kelsey asked.

"You'll see," Zack shook his head; he did not envy the guys at all. When Trini had first told them what was up, he was angry that they hadn't called him, but now, faced with the possibility of an angry and pissed off Kimberly, he was happy he _hadn't _gone.

"I can't believe they pulled this shit," Tanya said. "And then they lied about it."

"I know," Kat shook her head. "I don't know what they were thinking."

"They obviously weren't," Hayley snorted.

Maya was going to say something, but was stopped by a petite girl dressed in pink. "Who's that?"

The others looked up, and Trini smiled. "Kim, over here."

"That's Kim?" Mike, along with the others, minus the original, Justin and Space rangers, was shocked.

"Hey Tri," Kim smiled at her best friend. "What's up? What's with all these people?"

"Hey girl," Aisha smiled at her best friend.

"Hey Sha," Kim smiled before she looked at the others. "Ash? Cassie? What are you guys doing here? What's going on?"

"You should sit down," Tanya said.

"Kim," Hayley looked at her. "Where's Tommy?"

"Oh he said that some of the guys needed his help," Kim said. "He didn't say what they needed his help with though and then he called this morning and said it was taking longer than expected." She stopped and saw the looks that the girls exchanged. "What is it?"

"Clever," Kat muttered, "very clever; tells her enough so that it is the truth, just not all of it."

"What are you talking about?" Kim raised an eyebrow. She was starting to get a sinking feeling there was more to the story than she thought and she could feel herself become irritated.

"Jason and Rocky told us they were going on a camping trip," Aisha said, "he said it was a red male bonding for the two of them."

"Ok," Kim nodded slowly, "but what does that have to do with Tommy?"

"Because," Trini answered. "Jason, Rocky and Tommy are together…along with every other red ranger, including the newest."

"What?" Kim was shocked. "What the hell are they doing together?"

"They're on the moon," Trini said.

"Good one Tri," Kim started giggling which soon turned into laughter. "The boys are on the moon…yeah right." The guys, minus Adam, Zack, Justin, Carlos and Zhane, were looking at her in shock and only one thought was running through their minds, as well as the other girls:

'_This is the girl the guys are afraid of?'_

"Kim," Trini shook her head, not because of Kim's action as she had expected it, but because she knew that that laughter would soon turn to anger. "I'm telling the truth Kim. Ashley and Cassie, along with Taylor Alyssa and Delphine came to us; Taylor and Alyssa found out found from their mentor and they contacted the others before they came here. The boys have known about this since yesterday."

Kim was still laughing, but when she looked at Trini and saw the seriousness and anger on her face, and the same thing on the others, her laughter slowly stopped. "You're not kidding?"

"No," Aisha shook her head.

"What the hell are they doing on the moon?" Kim asked.

They exchanged looks, not sure who would tell her, but Ashley spoke up and told her what was going on.

"No," Kim shook her head. "No, that can't be right. There is no way in hell all the red rangers are on a mission to destroy Zedd's zord and they told no one about this." She started pacing and they could feel the agitation rolling off of her. "They are not that stupid; they wouldn't do something like that and keep it to themselves."

"They did," Ryan said and when Kim turned to look at him, he flinched from the anger radiating in her eyes and he was starting to believe just how the others could fear her.

"Of all the idiotic things they could do," Kim ranted. "When I get my hands on them…" she trailed off before she came to a sudden stop. "Tri?" her voice had gone from fury filled to deadly calm in seconds and the others shuddered slightly. Only Kat, Aisha, Tanya and Hayley didn't seem affected as they only smiled.

"Yes Kim?" Trini answered, trying to stop her glee from showing as she didn't want Kim to turn her anger on her, but damn if she wasn't enjoying this.

"Where exactly will the boys be?" Kim asked.

"At the NASADA Space Base," Ashley was the one to answer. "That's where they leave from and that's where they'll return to before they go back to their respective homes."

"How many reds are there?" Kim asked.

"Eleven," Karone answered; she was in glee about what was happening. She knew why the others were sceptical to believe that the reds were terrified of Kim, she had been the same when she had first met her, but she had seen experience of it. "There's Jason, Rocky, Tommy, TJ, Andros, Leo, Aurico, Carter, Wes, Eric and Cole."

Kim said nothing as she walked over to Ernie's. Her words were low so that the others couldn't hear, but they saw Ernie give her something. The pure anger in her eyes made the others look away.

"I need a few girls with me," Kim said in a low tone; she was beyond pissed at what the guys were doing and would let them know exactly how she felt.

"Where are you going?" Cassie asked.

"To get the boys," Kim answered. "I don't care if I have to sit out in that parking lot for four hours, I will sit there and wait for them."

"I'll go," Trini said.

"Oh I'm definitely going," Aisha stood up followed by Kat, Hayley, Ashley and Kendrix.

"Let's go," Kim said and the seven girls walked out the youth centre.

"Hey sis," Zack called out.

"Yeah?" Kim stopped and turned to look at him.

"You're not going to do anything too harsh, are you?" he asked.

She smiled and some of the boys whimpered while the girls looked away. "Of course not Zack." With that said, she turned and walked out, the girls following her.

"I am so glad I'm not a red," Zack said as he leaned back in his seat.

"You and me both," Adam chuckled. "Kim's on the warpath and the guys are going to get it good."

"I didn't believe you guys when you said you would sic her on them," Ryan said, "but the look she gave me..." he shuddered as he remembered.

"The look she gave you?" Damon looked at him. "The smile she just gave is enough to give you nightmares. Zack's right, I am so glad I'm not a red. I don't even want to think about what she's going to do to them."

"Even after knowing her since you guys were in high school," Delphine said. "I haven't met anyone else quite like her."

"Kim is the sweetest and kindest person you could ever meet," Tanya said. "She helps anyone who needs it and defends her friends when it calls for it. She's also really slow to anger, but when she does, you do not want to be the one she's angry at."

"She was like that when we were kids," Zack said. "And I'm glad she was able to go back to that kind of person." He exchanged looks with Adam and Tanya, remembering what had happened to Kim back in high school.

"Hey guys," a voice had them looking up.

"Billy," Cassie smiled up at him.

"Billy-man," Zack said. "What's up?"

"I should be asking that," Billy said. "I just saw Kim and the others leave in a hurry…what's going on?"

The others proceeded to tell Billy what was going on, not noticing the fear that entered his eyes.

~…~

The drive to the NASADA Space Base was a few hours and Kim was hoping the drive would calm her down; no such luck. The more she thought on it, the angrier she became.

In the passenger seat, Trini smiled. She was angry when she had first heard what was going on, but now, she was relaxed. She could feel the anger rolling off of Kim and knew that the boys would regret doing something like this ever again, if only to never face Kim when she was pissed off. They all thought she was slow to anger, but Kim had even more patience than she did. It took a lot to get her pissed off, but when she was, it was safer if you stayed out of her way.

In the back of the van, Aisha and the other girls sat; they too were looking forward to seeing the guys' reactions to Kim. They knew that while the guys would be scared at facing them, they would be downright terrified of facing Kim.

Before they knew it, they were pulling into the parking lot. Kim stayed inside, her hands continuously gripping the steering wheel as she tried once more, to calm down; it wasn't working, so she got out and stood behind the girls.

Trini and the girls lined up in front of the van, smiles on their faces when they heard the boys. The door behind them open, yet Kim made no move to go past them.

The girls heard Jason's Kissing on Kimberly comment and they winced and shook their heads when they heard the low growl from Kim.

When the boys came around the corner, they stopped still at the sight of them.

"Hello boys," Trini smiled sweetly.

~…~

The boys were sitting on DECA, relaxing after their mission, short as it was. They had destroyed Zedd's zord, Serpentra, but it had taken a little more time than they had thought. In the end, it had been Cole who had delivered the final blow to the zord.

"I still can't believe you did that," Eric said as he looked at him.

"I had a chance," Cole smiled, "and I took it."

"I thought I said no funny stuff?" Jason shook his head.

"Yeah," Tommy shook his own head with a smile. "But you were talking to Rocky…maybe you should've included Cole as well."

"Maybe," Jason smiled.

"I have to admit though," Carter spoke up, "it was nice to touch the power again."

"Same here," Rocky agreed. "But then again, I'm glad I'm out of it. It's nice not to have worry about being called from a date or an important meet for a monster attack."

"Too true," TJ nodded. "Now that that battle's over with, I hope we can get back to our places without too much trouble."

"I hear that," Wes said.

"_Ten Minutes to touchdown," _DECA sounded.

"Thanks DECA," Andros nodded. "We have ten minutes until we're back at NASADA; hopefully no one, and by no one I mean the girls, found out what was going on."

"If they do," Leo joked, "I'm turning them on you. Loyalty or not, when it comes to those girls, I'm all for saving my own ass."

"I completely agree with you," Rocky chuckled. The other boys looked at them and they shrugged. "Like any of you want to go against a pissed off female ranger," Rocky continued.

"Nope," Tommy shook his head. The guys started talking after that, each comparing times when they had been on the receiving end of one of the girls' anger. Before they knew it, DECA was already setting down at the NASADA Space Base.

After leaving the ship and talking with some of the officials, assuring them that the threat was over with, the guys were hanging out in the hangar.

"I have to say," Wes looked around at the others. "That was fun; I enjoyed myself."

"I did too," Eric nodded in agreement as did the others. "But now it's time to go back to the real world, and Cole here has to go back to his team."

"I'm glad everything was done so quickly," TJ shook his head.

"So am I," Leo clapped him on his back.

"It was nice to meet the greatest ranger," Cole said to Tommy as the guys started walking towards the parking lot.

"What?" All the other reds shouted while Tommy laughed.

"Hey," Jason said. "I was the one doing all the work while he was in the juice bar kissing on Kimberly."

"And I replaced him," TJ added. He paused before continuing. "Remember that time I was baked into a—

"Yes!" all the guys shouted; soon after the boys dissolved into laughter. Said laughter was cut short when they turned the corner and stopped short. Standing in front of their vehicles were Trini, Aisha, Kat, Hayley, Ashley and Kendrix.

"Hello boys," Trini smiled at them.

"Uhm…hi," Jason was the first to speak. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well," Kendrix answered. "We heard about a certain mission and we wanted to be here to congratulate you guys."

"Thanks," Cole smiled, oblivious to the danger. The other boys shook their heads.

"How…uh…how did you guys hear about that?" Andros gulped.

"Don't worry about that," Ashley answered.

"We're sorry," Leo said. "You have every right to be angry at us and whatever you want to do, we don't care."

Cole looked at him like he was crazy, but he didn't care; he knew they were in trouble and he figured things would go smoother if he agreed with them right from the start.

"Oh we're not angry," Aisha shook her head.

"You're not?" Rocky asked.

"No," Aisha said. "And _we_ are not going to do anything either."

"You aren't?" Eric asked.

"Oh no," Kim spoke up behind them and Trini and Aisha moved so that she could step forward. When they saw her, Andros, Rocky, Tommy, Jason, Aurico and TJ stepped back. "_They_ aren't, but I am."

"Who are you?" Cole asked; he, along with the remaining guys, was puzzled by the other's actions.

"Kimberly," Jason started only to be silenced by the glare that Kim sent his way.

"Don't you dare "Kimberly" me Jason Lee," Kim hissed, behind her, the girls smiled, "All of you in the van…NOW!"

The other reds might not know her, but even they were cowed by the look in her eyes.

Eric wanted to speak up, but when he had seen Jason flinch from the glare Kim had sent his way, he had bit his tongue and kept quiet.

Jason and the others were the first to move.

"But why?" Cole asked. "We brought our own jeeps."

Kim, who had turned back to go in the van, stopped; she turned slowly and the look in her eyes had Cole shivering. He felt like he was looking into the eyes of a predator. The look also made Eric and Wes grab Cole and quickly follow the others.

"Trini," Kim said, "grab Tommy's keys; Sha, take Jason's keys; Kat take Carter's; Ashley, take Wes' keys from him and Kendrix, grab TJ's."

"Got it," the girls nodded before they moved to do what they were told. Hayley smirked as she moved to the passenger seat of the van.

"Keys please," Ashley smiled as she held out her hand followed by the other girls.

The boys shared a look as they reluctantly handed over their keys.

Aurico watched the proceedings with interest; the last time he had seen Kim this angry was a few years ago when Billy had gotten sick and he had been brought to their planet as it was the only way to save him. Back then, Kim had gone off of them and had warned them that if Billy had died then they should run. At the time, when she had first said it, he had laughed it off, as did the others, but then he had looked into her eyes and knew that it hadn't been a warning, it had been a promise. That had shut him up and he had known she would've made good on that promise. Now, looking at her, he felt like he did then. He wanted to say hi, but he didn't want her attention on him anymore than it would be. He wasn't stupid.

When all the girls took off for the respective vehicles, Kim closed her eyes to calm herself for the third time and like the last two times, it wasn't working. When she heard the other cars start, she turned and got in the van. The door slammed behind her and the guys winced. She didn't say anything as she started the van and pulled out of the parking lot.

~…~

In the back, the guys all exchanged looks.

"What are we going to do?" Jason whispered to Tommy.

"Man, I have no idea," Tommy shook his head before he gave a quick glance at his fiancée.

"We need to think of something," Rocky said as he glanced at his little sister; he could see her clenching the wheel and he knew they were in for it.

"Like what?" Eric asked. "What idea could we come up with that would let us escape her anger?"

"I say we give her Andros," Leo piped up and the others agreed.

"Hey!" Andros narrowed his eyes at him. "If she comes after me, I swear I'll drag you all down too."

~…~

Kim gritted her teeth to stop the yelling that wanted to escape; she was extremely angry at the guys, but she didn't want to get into an accident either. She was going to control her anger until they got to Ernie's and then she would let loose on them.

The drive back to Angel Grove was shorter than they thought, and before anyone realized it, Kim was pulling into the parking lot at the Juice Bar. She said nothing as she sat there, her hands still periodically clenching the steering wheel.

"Everyone out…now," her voice was soft, but still held the note of fury and the guys wasted no time in getting out. They all headed inside, barely aware of the other girls pulling up in their cars and the extra cars in the parking lot which belonged to their own teammates.

The boys entered the youth centre, only to pause at the sight of the rest of the former rangers.

"Hello," Tanya waved when she saw them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Eric asked as he and the others cautiously moved inside.

"Well," Zack smiled. "At first, it was to talk about a certain mission, but now it's to see you guys get your asses kicked by a certain pink ranger."

"How mad is she?" TJ asked.

"On a scale of one to ten," Adam smirked, "I'd say twenty."

"Ouch," TJ, Tommy, Rocky, Jason, Aurico and Andros winced.

"I think she's angrier than she was when Zordon died and we all tried to blame Andros," Zack grinned.

"And possibly worse than when she warned us what would happen should William die in our care," Delphine added with a smile.

"Oh God," Andros groaned.

"You guys are in for it," Ryan shook his head.

"Where is Kim anyways?" Tanya asked.

Before either guy could respond, the doors opened once more and they turned to see the other girls, Kim included, walking towards them. The red rangers all backed up at the look on Kim's face.

Trini and the other girls found seats and watched the interaction between Kim and the guys with smiles on their faces.

"Could someone please explain to me what the hell you were thinking?" Kim asked through gritted teeth. She could feel her powers shifting inside and instinctively knew that it was where her crane lay, but the feeling was different and she held a suspicion as to what it was.

The boys exchanged looks before looking back at Kim; none of them wanted to explain as they were too afraid to say anything. Cole however, despite the look she had given him back at the NASADA base, decided to talk.

"We fought Zedd's old zord," he said. "We had to."

"You had to?" Kim repeated. "And why was it only the eleven of you?"

"We're the leaders," Cole said and everyone winced. "We could handle it without too much trouble and we got it done. It was cool though, meeting all the former rangers. I had fun."

"Fun?" Kim's eyes flashed red and the boys, Cole now included, backed up even further. "You think it was fun to go on a mission with just you and not tell anyone? You think it was fun to fight Zedd's old zord? That's your definition of fun?"

"We didn't ask to do it," Leo said defensively; he had to stop himself from whimpering and shrinking back when Kim turned to look at him, but he stood still and continued. "Andros called us and we went."

When Kim turned to look at Andros, said guy took a half step backwards before turning to glare at Leo, who shrugged at him.

"Andy," Kim smiled sweetly at him and it made him want to run; it was never a good thing when she did that. "Was it your idea to do this mission?"

"Not…not really," Andros swallowed before he continued. "I…uh…I got the call from NASA and then I called the guys. I told them what was up and not to say anything—

He stopped himself when he realized what he said.

"You told them not to say anything?" Kim's voice was increasing in pitch. "What the hell were you thinking? Did it not occur to you that we would be worried? How do you think we would've felt to hear that something happened to either one of you and not know exactly where you were when it happened?"

"That's why we wanted to return before it happened," Aurico said.

"And let me guess," she glared at him and he looked away. "If you had, you never would've told us, am I right?" he said nothing. "Just how fucking stupid are you guys? What kind of team leaders are you that you would do something like this? And how could half of you fight when you didn't even have any power?"

At this point, Billy gulped and slowly, but very subtle moved to his feet.

Tommy and Jason exchanged looks; they had an idea as to how Andros had gotten all the morphers working and they were not above dragging the culprit into the mess with them.

"Beautiful," Tommy started, but stopped and flinched when Kim growled. He tried again, "Kim, I know you're angry at Andros, but—

"But what?" Kim growled out as she cut him off; her eyes flashed red once more and he shivered at the dark look in them.

"Andros needed help," Jason picked up after he spent the few seconds gathering his courage. "I'm sure Billy—

"What?" Kim almost screeched as she turned so fast they worried about whiplash. Her gaze pinned Billy who was already on his feet and trying to sneak out. "William David Cranston, bring your ass up here!"

Billy stopped and winced, before he slowly turned around. He glared at Tommy and Jason, who smiled unapologetically at him, before he slowly made his way to where the others were.

~…~

"I should've brought popcorn," Zack said to Adam; he whispered because he didn't want Kim to hear him and turn on him.

"I know," Adam replied.

"I used to be jealous I wasn't a red," Ryan leaned over to whisper to the two of them, but the others heard, "but now, I'm definitely glad I'm not."

"I think we all agree with that," Carlos said and the others nodded.

~…~

The moment Billy got to the others, Kim pinned him with a glare.

"Kimberly," he shuffled nervously, but Kim's glare only increased. "I'm sorry. Andros called and told me what NASA told him and he asked for my help. I couldn't turn him down."

Billy, along with the others, stared at Kim waiting for a reaction. They were prepared for her anger, for her to start yelling; what they were not prepared for was for her shoulders to drop and her expression to go from anger to sadness.

"I see," Kim wrapped her arms around her waist and kept the expression on her face. On the outside she looked dejected and sad, but inside, she was smirking at them. "And no one bothered to tell anyone what was going on. Instead, you guys chose to lie to me…to all of us."

The heartbroken tone to her voice had the guys wincing.

"Kim," Rocky said as he stepped forward to touch her.

"No," She shook her head and stepped out of his reach. "Obviously being a hero again was more important to you than anything else. Anything could've happened and we wouldn't have known because we were told that you were at specific locations. After everything that everyone here has been through with all of you, this is how you repay our trust? By not trusting us enough to tell us what was going on?"

The guys exchanged looks even as they shifted on their feet; they would've preferred her anger to this.

"I never thought I'd say this," Kim said sadly, "but I'm disappointed that each one of you was ever a red ranger and leader because they're the ones that are supposed to look out for their teammates and put their selfishness aside to realize that there is no "I" in team, but none of you did."

"Kimberly," Andros said. "We didn't mean to."

"But you did," Kim sniffed, blinking a few times to make her eyes water. "And what hurts is that you never planned on saying anything. What if you _couldn't_ handle it? Did either one of you thought about what you would've done if Zedd's zord was fully functional by the time you got there? What if it had taken more than the eleven of you to destroy it? You didn't think about that did you?" With that, she turned and walked away leaving them staring after in sadness.

"We fucked up," Wes broke the silence.

"Big time," Eric nodded.

"So how do we fix it?" TJ asked as he looked at the other guys.

"I'm not sure," Andros sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"We apologize," Rocky said as he looked at them before walking towards the others.

~…~

As Kim passed their tables, Trini and Aisha could see the smile playing in her eyes and they immediately knew that she did what she did on purpose.

"She's good," Trini smiled at Aisha and the others.

"That's our girl," Aisha nodded.

"Do you think they realized?" Kat asked.

"Nah," Trini shook her head. "Wait, here they come."

The girls, and the others, looked up when the red rangers approached the table.

"We wanted to apologize for going on the mission and then lying to you guys about it," Andros said.

"It was wrong of us," Rocky continued, "and we're sorry."

"Kim's right," Jason added. "We were all part of a team and we should've told you guys about the mission."

"We understand that you guys are angry," Carter said, "but please believe we never meant for that to happen."

"Can you guys forgive us?" Eric asked as he looked at the former rangers.

"Yes," Trini nodded, as did Aisha, and when the others looked at them, the look they gave them had them backing off.

"But we're not the one whose forgiveness you should be worried about," Aisha said as she gestured to where Kim was sitting.

The guys all shared a look before they sighed deeply and made their way over to the petite brunette.

~…~

Kim hid her smile as she heard the boys walk over to where she was sitting. She turned her face from them and plastered the sad expression back on her face as she felt Tommy touch her shoulder.

"What?" She asked quietly as she bowed her head for a split second before looking up at him and the guys; they flinched when they saw the look in her eyes and she smirked inwardly.

"Kimberly," Jason started as he sat down in the chair next to her as Tommy pulled up one in front of her and Rocky pulled up another on the other side of her. "We are so sorry we didn't tell anyone what was going on. It was wrong, and we know it."

"I guess we got too caught up in being able to use the powers again that we didn't think on how everyone else would feel," Rocky injected with a sad sigh.

"Kim," Tommy reached out and held her hands in his. "I know you're mad and you have every right to be. We're so sorry. Forgive us?"

Kim remained silent as she looked at each of the red ranger's; she saw the true remorse in their eyes as well as the fear of her going off on them again. She looked at her big brothers before looking at Tommy.

She pushed back her chair and stood up. She looked at the guys before smirking. "Glad we got that straightened out. Now, let's go relax."

"Wait?" the boys stood up. "What?"

"What the hell just happened?" Rocky asked.

"You just played us," Tommy realized, looking at Kim with wide eyes.

"Yes," Kim's smile was completely unrepentant. "I did, and you deserved it. Now, before I get really pissed off, I suggest we cut this line of talking and then go and relax."

The boys looked at each other, coming to a unanimous decision before turning back to Kim.

"Let's go relax," they smiled at her and she couldn't help but to laugh.

~…~

"What the hell just happened?" Ryan asked as he looked over at Km and the reds.

"Kim happened," Kat smiled. "We told you, once you get close to Kim, you never ever want to be on her angry side, but even worse than that, you'll never want to make her feel disappointed."

"Disappointing her will feel a lot worse than her anger," Tanya finished.

"Our girl is good," Aisha laughed, "she played them very well."

"Wait," Kai shook his head. "Are you saying that from the moment they came in here, Kim has been playing them? She made them think she was very angry and disappointed when in fact, she truly wasn't?"

"Yes," the original, Space rangers and Hayley all replied.

Before anyone could reply to that, they heard Kim laughing and looked over to see her heading back to them with the guys in tow.

"So?" Damon looked at them. "What happened?"

"The guys are very sorry for what they did," Kim started, "and they promise to never do it again and Billy promised that he would never ever help the guys again on such a stupid, idiotic mission that has them lying to us. Isn't that right?" she turned to them and narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," the boys all said as one. "We're very sorry."

Everyone laughed again before Kim and the others sat down. The group talked for a while before Cole, Danny and Max had to leave to go back home to help the rest of their teammates as they were still active.

Kim had found her usual place in Tommy's lap and had leaned back against his chest; she looked out around the rangers, former rangers, and couldn't help the happiness that erupted within her. To see all of them together, to see Zordon's legacy from the beginning to now, to see it going so strong, it made her feel so calm and at peace to know that Zordon's work was being continued. The man that was more of a father to her than her own, that chose them all, she hoped that wherever he was, he was looking down at them with pride and contentment and faith that they would carry on…the same way she was…the same way she knew they all felt.

* * *

**A/N 2: **so that's the chapter. How did you guys like it? Review and let me know


	2. Getting Everything Ready

**Setting: **Dino Thunder; starts with the 'Moon Mission' and continues on through DT.  
**Story Summary: **Through unexpected situations, some of the former rangers are called back to action. They did their duty and life went on, but trouble stirs as a former ranger stumbles across a new power source. With the help of friends—near and far—they will create and mentor three teens into becoming the newest members of the ranger family. This is the story of the Dino Thunder Rangers.  
**Chapter: 2: **Getting Everything Ready  
**Chapter Word Count: **9,734

**A/N: **here's the new chapter. Enjoy! And thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and pretty much loved this story so far! You guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban. I am not making any money from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"Speaking"  
_"Speaking over the phone"_  
_'Thinking'_

**Original Posting Date: **Tuesday, 09 July 2013

* * *

_Previously on ADD;_

_-Kim and Tommy took a vacation where they caught up with Bulk and Skull_

_-The former and current red rangers did the moon mission; then they got into trouble for it_

* * *

Since the Moon Mission—or the 'Reds Are Idiots' Mission as they girls had dubbed it—things had settled down. The rangers had decided to stay in contact with each other and would sometimes get together once a week to hang out. They traded stories about their team and the battles that they had and would compare villains. They would help the Wild Force team as they fought their own villain, letting them vent on them if it became too much sometimes.

Weeks passed and before they knew, they were in the middle of summer. Tommy would be leaving in a few days to go with Anton to his island to do palaeontology work and he couldn't wait.

"Beautiful have you seen my shirt?" Tommy yelled out to Kim who was in the kitchen.

"Which one?" Kim yelled back.

Tommy, not wanting to continue yelling, walked to the bedroom and headed to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway, "The white one with the thin, black vertical stripes."

Kim turned around and smiled at him, placing her glass of orange juice on the counter. "It's in the right corner of the bottom drawer."

"Thanks," Tommy smiled before jogging back to the room. He went to the dresser, pulled the drawer out and quickly located his shirt. He noticed that it was folded neatly and carefully took it out and placed in his suitcase. As that was the last thing he needed, he zipped the suitcase close before moving from the bed to the behind the door. When he was done, he walked out the bedroom, going back to the kitchen.

"I'm in here," Kim called from the couch in the front room when she saw him going to the kitchen.

"Hey," Tommy smiled as he walked over to her. He sat down next to her and she snuggled into his body, his arm dropping around her shoulders to hold her close.

They were quiet for a few minutes before Kim broke the silence.

"I still can't believe you're leaving for a few months," Kim sighed.

"I know," Tommy nodded, "me either. But it's a necessary evil; Anton is the best and I'm lucky he chose me."

"I know," Kim shifted to look at him. "I'm glad he saw the potential in you and is going to expand it, but, it's just…it's the first time we'll be apart since I came back from Florida."

At the word, Tommy tightened his arms briefly around Kim. He hated hearing the name as it only brought painful memories as it would remind him of everything that had happened to her when she was there.

"I'm ok," Kim said in response to the tightening of his arms. "I know you have to go and I'm not asking you to stay, I would never do that. It's just an observation and it left me a little nervous, but I know we can do it…besides, I'll have everyone here with me."

"I know," Tommy sighed. "I didn't really want to think about that, you know? But you're right; we will be able to do it. And if I'm able, you know I'll call you like every day?"

"Yes," Kim smiled. "I'd expect nothing less from you."

"Good," Tommy pressed a kiss to her head. "Wanna head over to Ernie's?"

"Sure," Kim nodded and shifted to get off of him. "Let's call—

BRRRING!

Exchanging a look with Tommy, Kim got up and went to the phone. "Hello?"

"_Hey," Aisha's voice sounded. "You guys wanna meet us at the youth centre?"_

"Great minds think alike," Kim laughed, "I was just about to call you guys and ask if you wanted to meet up."

"_Too true," Aisha laughed. "Alright, I'll let the others know you guys will be there."_

"See you in fifteen," Kim said before she hung up.

"They wanna meet too," Tommy smiled and stood up.

"Yep," Kim nodded, "let's go."

Grabbing their keys from the coffee table, Kim and Tommy headed out to meet their friends.

~…~

"Did you call them?" Hayley asked as she took a seat next to Aisha. She sipped on her smoothie as she waited for her friend to answer.

"Yep," Aisha smiled, "they're on their way."

"Good," Kat said, "it'll be nice to hang out before Tommy leaves in three days."

"How do you think they'll handle it?" Zack asked. He knew, as well as the others, that Tommy and Kim hadn't been out of each other's sights for too long ever since she had returned from Florida back in their junior year.

"They're strong," Jason commented. "It'll be strange for them for a bit, but they'll be able to do it."

"And besides," Trini added on, "it's not like Kim will really be alone. We're all going to keep her company so that she doesn't focus too much on him being gone."

"True," Tanya nodded. "And you guys know Tommy is more than likely going to call her like every single day."

"Of course he will," Rocky laughed. "Our fearless leader is completely devoted to our little crane."

"And she is to him as well," Adam said. "This is a great opportunity for Tommy and they both know it. We know Tommy would stay if she asked, but she won't."

"She's not like that," Billy smiled as he thought on his little sister.

"Who's not like what?" Kim asked as she and Tommy walked up to their friends.

"You guys got here fast," Hayley chuckled.

"Hayles," Kim rolled her eyes with a giggle. "We know every single shortcut to Ernie's from either one of our places. It comes in handy when Tommy and I are just too tired and lazy to cook."

"I bet," Kat laughed.

"Like you don't do the same PC?" Kim teased her blonde friend.

"Are you ever going to let go of that nickname?" Kat groaned; she always pretended to hate when she was called that, but she knew—as well as the others—that she loved hearing it from Kim and Aisha…especially Kim.

"Nope," Kim and Aisha said as one, both smiling when their friends dissolved into laughter.

"I hate you," Kat grumbled, a smile playing on her lips.

"We love you too," Kim and Aisha laughed at her.

Getting her laughter under control, Kim looked at her friends before looking out and around the youth centre. "So what are we doing? Just hanging out here like we're still in high school?"

"Yes," the group responded with smiles.

"Sounds good to me," Tommy laughed.

~…~

The last three days had passed quickly and it was now time for Tommy to leave on his trip. He was understandably apprehensive about leaving Kim, but he knew he had to go…it didn't make it easier though.

The couple could be found in their bedroom as he packed up the last of his things.

"Are you going to stay here by yourself?" Tommy asked as he looked over at Kim.

"I don't think I'll be able to handle it," Kim shook her head with a small smile. "I'm staying with mom and dad and I know the others will be over there every day to see me or I'll be at their place or at Ernie's. I won't be alone."

"Good," Tommy nodded and walked over to her. "I know, but I still worry…you know?"

"I do," Kim nodded as she stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "But, I know you have to go on this trip and the sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back so that we can plan our wedding."

"I like the sound of that," Tommy chuckled as he bent his head for a quick kiss before pulling back. "Come on, let's go."

They pulled away from each other and turned to leave their bedroom; Tommy grabbed his suitcase while Kim grabbed the small backpack that held his passport, IDs, Social Security and every other important documents.

When they got to their living room, they saw their friends sitting there.

"All ready to go?" Jason asked.

"Just about," Tommy nodded as he looked around at them. "I still can't believe this is happening."

"We know," Trini smiled, "and don't worry, we'll take good care of your girl."

"Besides," Aisha grinned, "we have a wedding to plan."

"That's what I told him," Kim laughed.

"There's that great minds thing again," Aisha laughed as did the others.

Outside, a car horn sounded and Tommy breathed out as he looked around. Kim stepped to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It's going to be ok," She smiled.

"I know," Tommy nodded. He pressed a kiss to her lips before grabbing his bag. "I'll see you guys in three months."

"Stay safe bro," Jason murmured as he pulled into a manly hug followed by the rest of the guys and the girls.

"I will," Tommy said; he smiled once more at Kim before he walked out the door.

"We'll be fine," Kim took a deep breath. "I'll be fine."

"You will be sweetie," Trini walked over to her from behind and rested her chin on Kim's shoulder.

"We'll make sure of it," Aisha said as she grabbed Kim's hand in her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

~…~

Tommy sighed as he walked out of the airport and towards the private plane; next to him, walked Terrance "Smitty" Smith, another intern that Anton Mercer had recruited. From the moment he got in the car, he had felt a bit off and he knew it had to do with leaving Kim. He had wanted to go back to her, but he knew he couldn't.

The ride to the airport hadn't taken long and they had been cleared through security very quickly, perks of being associated with the Mercer name. From the moment he had entered the car to now, Smitty had talked and hadn't stopped, but even still, Tommy couldn't help the feeling that despite his outward persona, the man held some resentment towards him.

He shook his head as he spotted his employer standing next to the plane.

"Mr Mercer," Tommy said as he held out his hand for the man to shake.

"Tommy," Anton smiled, "what'd I tell you? It's Anton."

"Sorry," Tommy smiled apologetically. "I was always told to call my boss by his last name."

"Well," Anton laughed. "You don't have to."

"Alright," Tommy nodded.

"And Terrance," Anton turned to the other guy. "How have you been?"

"Good," Terrance smiled as he shook Anton's hand. "I'm excited about this trip."

"So am I," Anton nodded. "Please, let's board." He gestured to the plane.

The two young men followed him and all three boarded. When they were settled in, they waited for the plane to take off.

"OK," Anton turned to them. "We will be going to an island of mine. It's very good as research shows it has very good finds."

"What kind?" Tommy asked.

"Fossils that date back to the Triassic era," Anton said to the surprise and awe of his companions.

"The Triassic era?" Terrance looked at the man.

"Anton," Tommy breathed, "that's amazing." His mind raced as he thought on what Anton had said. He had chosen palaeontology because of his past as a ranger; being a ranger was one of the best things to happen to him because it not only gave him friends, it gave him the most important person to him. He had been fascinated with their zords and the story behind them, and when they had gone to Phaedos the first time, it had only fuelled that fascination.

Now, he was working with one of the best archaeologists in the world doing something that he genuinely loved.

"What sorts of fossils do you think we'll find?" Tommy asked as he shifted in his seat.

"According to my research," Anton said. "We should find mainly Tyrannosaurus', but we may find other fossils as well."

"Can't wait," Terrance said.

"I know," Anton smiled before turning to Tommy and his smile turned into gentle chuckling when he saw the pure excitement shining in Tommy's eyes. "And I know you can't either. I don't think I've ever seen you this excited and it's not about something to do with that spitfire fiancée of yours."

"I know," Tommy shook his head with a laugh. "Nothing can top Kim, but this is pretty close. And Kim is a little spitfire, isn't she?"

"What do you mean spitfire?" Terrance's eyes narrowed slightly at the byplay between the two. He was jealous of the way Anton seemed to be more familiar and open with Tommy than he was with him.

"Kimberly," Anton started with a chuckle, "told me in no uncertain terms that if anything happens to her fiancé on this trip, I shouldn't bother coming back to the U.S. and of course, all of their friends were there—by the way, you have a lot of friends—and they all agreed with her."

"Sorry man," Tommy laughed.

"Don't be," Anton waved his words away, still chuckling.

"How close are we to the island?" Terrance asked, hoping to shift the attention away from Tommy.

"We'll be there in a few hours," Anton answered.

"I'll think I'll take a quick nap then," Tommy smiled, "because I know when we get there, we'll be working straight away."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Anton nodded and all three settled more comfortable in their seats.

~…~

"Hey sweetie," Melissa smiled when she saw Kim walk into the living room. "How are you holding up?"

"Not that good," Kim shrugged as she dropped onto the couch, pulling up her feet and tucking them under her. "I really miss him, but we talked last night, so…I'm ok."

It's been a month since Tommy left for Mercer Island and like he promised, he had called Kim almost every night. The nights he didn't, it was usually because he was too tired from the day before, and she understood that.

"Don't worry," Melissa replied, "the next two months will fly by really quickly and sooner than you think, he'll be back home with you."

"I know," Kim grinned. "I'm counting down the days."

"That's my girl," Melissa laughed. "So, what are you going to do today?"

"Well," Kim shifted on the couch. "I would be hanging out here, but knowing the others, they'll drag me out and to Ernie's and maybe the park."

"Of course," Melissa nodded and the laughter still in her voice. "How could I think different?"

"I really don't know mom," Kim giggled. The doorbell rang and Kim shared a grin with the older woman. "Speak of the devil. IT'S OPEN!"

They heard the door open and the voices of the friends as they walked into the room.

"Hey Mrs. Oliver," Aisha smiled. "Hey sis."

"Hi guys," Melissa smiled. "I take it you're here to drag this girl out?"

"Yep," Rocky nodded. "It's our duty to do so."

"I know," Melissa laughed. "Well go on, before she dies from boredom here."

"Mom!" Kim looked at the woman, trying to hold in her giggles. "You know that's not true."

"Sure it isn't sweetie," Melissa nodded. "Whatever you say."

"Ugh," Kim groaned as she got up. "Let's get out of here."

"Love you honey," Melissa grinned as the others laughed.

"Yeah yeah," Kim waved her words away before she laughed and walked over to where Melissa was sitting and kissing her on her cheek. "I'll see you later."

"Bye sweetie," Melissa smiled as she reached up a hand to touch Kim's shoulder. "Have fun."

"I'll try mom," Kim smiled as she pulled back.

"Don't worry Mrs. O," Zack grinned. "We'll make sure of it."

"I know you guys will," Melissa laughed and waved them off. When she heard the door close, she shook her head and got up to head to the kitchen. "Hurry home soon Tommy…she misses you."

~…~

Tommy wiped the sweat from his brow with his already damped hand cloth. He, Anton and Smitty were in the field digging through their designated spot for the day and the sun was beating down on them. Shifting to his knees, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a green bandana, folding it twice before tying it around his head.

He was just about to continue digging when he felt it; a power source and it was a very strong one. He continued digging, his movements a bit hurried, before he hit jackpot. His fingers brushed against what felt like a rock and after some movement, he was able to close them around it and pull the object out. When he did, he held it up to see what it was; he was right, it was a rock—a red one—and he could feel the power emanating from it.

He carefully cleaned it off before he held it to study it better. He concluded that it was part of meteor fragment and wondered if there was anymore. An excited shout from Smitty drew his attentions and when he turned to his companion, seeing that he held something in his hand. Wrapping the red rock in a piece of cloth, he placed it in his pocket and walked over to where the man was.

"What is it?" Anton asked as he joined the two.

"Rocks," Terrance answered as he held up the rocks. They were blue and yellow and Tommy could feel the power emanating from those two rocks as well.

"I found this one just over there," Tommy said as he pulled the red rock from his pocket and showed it to the two men. He hadn't wanted to tell them, but knew he had to. "I think they're meteor fragments."

"You may be right Tommy," Anton nodded. "But we won't know more about them until we get them back to the lab and under a microscope."

"Alright," the two men nodded before they stored the three rocks before continuing on.

~...~

It's been three weeks since the rocks had been found and those three weeks had been spent inside the lab, working on them. During that time, Tommy felt unease with the whole process, but he chalked it up to his close connection to the Morphin Grid.

He had hoped that Anton and Smitty wouldn't find anything unusual with the rocks other than the normal properties of meteor rocks, but his hopes went unheeded as they did just that; the day after they had found the rocks, they had found that there was power in them. They had used the rocks to test on the Tyrannodrones, robots they had built from the fossils they had found, and all three were ecstatic with the results. Soon after, Anton and Smitty had started using the power from the rocks in other tests, ones that Tommy wasn't a part of. He could feel that something bad was going to happen, but he brushed off the feeling, thinking it was just him and his ranger connection. He had no idea how wrong he was.

~...~

About two weeks later, Tommy found himself working alone in the lab. He had no idea where Anton and Smitty were. He knew that the two were working on something other than what the three had started out doing as they would disappear for hours on end. He knew somehow that whatever they were working on had to do with the three rocks, but he never voiced his questions.

Normally the silence wouldn't bother him, but today, it seemed off; the silence felt foreboding. He had just moved from his workstation to look under the microscope at another table when he felt the building shudder.

"What the hell?" he stopped the machines and removed the safety goggles, placing them on the table in front of him. "What was that?"

Another shudder rocked the building—this one more powerful than the last—and he grabbed onto the edge of the table to stop himself from falling. "Whoa! What the hell is going on?"

Tommy looked towards the doors and called out. "Anton? Smitty?" he didn't get a reply and that foreboding feeling became stronger. He left the table and cautiously headed to the hallway. He called out once again for his companions and again he got no reply. He continued walking, hoping he'd run into one of them.

He had just passed a hallway when he heard a growling sound. He quickly turned around and what he saw shocked him to the core; it was a Tyrannodrone, but this robot was completely different from the ones they had been working on almost five weeks before. This robot seemed more menacing.

Tommy didn't even bother to think about it, he just started running. He headed back to the lab, grabbed the three rocks, threw them in a black box and high-tailed it out of there. He dodged the robot, dismayed and shocked to find that more had joined and flew down the hallway. Another explosion rocked the building and he fell into the wall, falling to the ground before getting back up and taking off again.

He got outside the building and kept running. He was just a few feet away when the entire building exploded and threw him off his feet. Tommy landed with a thud. He groaned and rolled to his feet before he continued running. He got to the edge of a cliff and stopped, looking over.

"Shit!" Tommy looked around, and hearing more explosions, turned back to the ocean. "Oh man!"

Without another thought, he jumped. He hit the cold water with a splash, staying submerged for a few seconds before pushing his way to the top, gasping for air when he broke through.

Debris rained down around him, and he covered his head before swimming a distance away. He soon got tired and clung to decent size piece of wood, resting his aching upper body on the wood. His eyes closed as he slipped into unconsciousness.

~...~

Kim was helping Melissa clean the house when a weird feeling filled her being. Her brows furrowed and her hand came up to absently rub her chest over her heart.

"Kim?" Melissa turned to the girl and saw her staring off into nothing. She walked over to her and touched her shoulder. "Sweetie? Is everything ok?"

"I-I don't know," Kim turned to look at the older woman. She looked down to where her hand was rubbing her chest and then looked back at Melissa. "Something's wrong...I feel like something's wrong."

Melissa frowned, wondering what could be wrong and hoping it had nothing to do with their past as rangers.

The feeling faded slightly from Kim and she shook her head before continuing to clean. Half an hour later, the feeling came back and once again, Kim was absently rubbing her chest are above her heart.

Melissa noticed the forlorn expression and looked at the girl she considered her daughter. "Do you feel it again?"

"Yes," Kim nodded. "I just don't know what it means?" she turned wide eyes towards Melissa. "You don't think something's wrong with Tommy?"

Before she could answer, they heard knocking and seconds later, the door opened, revealing the voices of the friends before they saw them.

"Hey sis," Jason greeted first, "hey Mrs. O."

The others walked in behind and stopped when they saw the look on Kim's face. Aisha was the first to move forward.

"Kim?" she grabbed her best friend's hands in her right and raised her left to cup Kim's cheeks. Her thumb brushed away the tears Kim wasn't even aware was falling. "What is it?"

"I don't-I don't know," Kim whispered, "all I know is that I feel weird...like something bad is going to happen..." she turned to her friends. "I think something's wrong with Tommy."

Aisha moved Kim to the couch, Melissa following as the others took up seats around the living room. She sat Kim down, and sat down after her. When she did, she accidentally sat on the remote and the TV turned on.

"_...urgent news," a male newscaster was speaking, "we've received reports that the laboratory on Mercer Island has been destroyed in an explosion almost an hour ago."_

"Oh my God," Kat's hand flew to her mouth as she listened to the news.

A pain-filled gasp escaped Kim and Aisha tightened her hands on her friend's.

"_According to the reports," the man continued, "the explosion started in the lab and spread throughout the island, destroying both. Millionaire Anton Mercer and his two protégés, Thomas "Tommy" Oliver and Terrance "Smitty" Smith, were with him. Coast Guards are canvassing the area, but unfortunately, we have no word as of yet if any of the three men survived the explosion. We will continue to keep you posted."_

"No," tears spilled over and ran down Kim's cheeks. "Oh God...please..." she broke down crying and Melissa pulled the distraught girl into her arms.

Around the room, the others had tears in their eyes as the news sank in and they worried about their friend.

"This can't be happening," Hayley whispered as she wiped her cheeks, but her tears still kept falling. "He's ok...he has to be."

Kim buried her face into Melissa's chest and cried even harder. She felt like someone had ripped her still beating heart directly from her chest. The pain was so unbearable.

The ringing of a cell phone drew the others and they turned to Jason who shakily drew his cell from his pocket.

"Hello?"

"_Jason," a voice said, "it's me Carter."_

"Now's not a good time Carter," Jason managed between tears.

"_I know," Carter said, his voice filled with sorrow. "I saw the news. The others and I were thinking of going out there. We still have our equipment from our time as rangers."_

Jason sat up straighter and the others looked at him in confusion. "Carter, are you sure?"

"_Positive," Carter said, "he's one of us, and I can't imagine what our little sis is going through. The others already agree, so we're going. We're going to find him Jason."_

"Thank you," Jason wiped his tears, his heart and soul now filling with joy, relief but mostly hope.

"What is it?" Tanya asked.

"The LSR team is thinking of going out there to try and find Tommy," Jason explained to the others. "They said their equipment is still working so they want to try."

Excited whispers echoed throughout the room.

"You got our vote man," Jason turned back to his phone.

"_Alright," Carter nodded, "can I talk to Kim?"_

"Sure," Jason moved Trini's feet from his lap and stood up, walking over to Kim and kneeling in front of her. "Sis, Carter wants to talk to you."

Kim's cries lessened to sniffles and she eased up from Melissa's chest to look at Jason. Her gaze shifted from him to the phone before she reached out with trembling hands and took it.

"Yeah?"

"_Listen to me sis," Carter's voice was strong. "We're going out there and we're going to find him. We're going to bring him home Kim. Don't you worry."_

Kim took a shuddering breath and drew some strength from the strong conviction she heard in Carter's voice. "I can't not worry...I just want him back."

"_I know," Carter assured her, "and you will get him back. We won't stop searching until we find him."_

"Thanks Carter," Kim said. "Ok...talk to you later...bye." she hung up the phone and gave it back to Jason.

"Stay strong sweetie," Melissa ran her fingers gently through Kim's hair. "They'll find him and bring him home to us."

Kim nodded, her eyes filling up once more, and leaned back into Melissa embrace, resting her head on the older woman's chest.

~...~

Hours later, the LSR rescue ship was in the Atlantic heading towards Mercer Island.

"How close are we to the island?" Ryan asked Carter as he walked up to his former leader's seat.

"Very," Carter answered, "we should be there in fifteen minutes." Carter turned to his wife. "Dana, you got the medical equipment set up?"

"Yep," Dana nodded, pushing her glasses up on her face as they had slipped slightly.

"You really think he's out there, alive?" Chad Lee asked.

"I do," Carter nodded. "And we'll find him."

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes before Kelsey broke the silence. "How did Kimberly sound?"

Carter sighed. "She was crying and I could hear the pain in her voice. That's why we going to find him."

The others nodded in agreement. Ever since the Moon mission, they had kept in touch with the other rangers and they had become close with the original rangers. For Carter, as tough and mean as he was used to acting, he had developed a soft spot for the original pink ranger and had seen her as his little sister since. He knew that all the red rangers felt that way though.

"There's the island ahead," Joel spoke up. The others looked out and saw the destroyed island and breathed out loudly.

"Oh wow," Kelsey's stunned and wide eyes took in the scene.

"Scan for life forms," Carter said.

"Scanning," Dana answered as she pushed some buttons on the console nearest to her. After a few minutes, she turned to the others. "I've got something."

"What is it?" the others rushed to where she was.

"There's something about fifteen minutes northeast of here," Dana replied as she looked at the monitor.

"Let's hope it's him," Carter said, before going back to his post. "Changing course."

The LSR rescue boat changed directions. Fifteen minutes later, they go to the coordinates and started scanning the water for their fallen comrade. After about ten minutes of searching, Ryan saw something.

"There!" he pointed. "That piece of plank drifting over there."

Carter turned the ship to pull up close while Ryan, Chad Lee and Joel headed out to the deck. They got the rescue raft ready and when the ship coasted to a stop, they were able to clearly identify Tommy's body floating on the plank.

Ryan and Joel went down on the raft while Chad Lee worked the wrench. The two carefully manoeuvred Tommy's body into the raft, wincing when they felt how cold his body was.

Ryan pressed his index and middle finger against Tommy's neck, eyes filling with worry when he felt the erratic pulse of his heart. He looked at Joel. "We gotta him get him to Dana."

Joel looked up and motioned for Chad Lee to pull them up. Soon enough, the raft was back on deck and the three were hurrying Tommy to the medical cabin.

"Put him here," Dana instructed as the boys brought Tommy in. They did as they were told and stepped back, allowing her to do her job. "Carter, we need to get back to the mainland immediately. Tommy's going to need to go to the hospital."

"Got it," Carter nodded before he set the course back to the States, his speed faster than when they had set out. "Kelsey, call Jason and let him know we found Tommy. Joel, radio AG Hospital and let them know we're bringing Tommy in."

"On it," echoed from both of them.

~...~

Kim and the others—Melissa and James included—were in the waiting room at hospital, waiting impatiently for the ambulance to arrive with Tommy. The LSR team had called a few hours ago to say they had found Tommy and that they were bringing him back to Angel Grove.

"Where are they?" Rocky asked as he ran a hand through his hair.

"They'll be here," Jason told him, but speaking to the room at large. No sooner had the words left his mouth did the doors flew open and they saw Tommy being wheeled in on a stretcher, doctors surrounding him, the LSR rangers following behind.

"Tommy," Kim moved from Melissa's arms to where her fiancé lay.

"Wait," Melissa stopped the doctors. "He's my son and these are his fiancée and friends; let them see him."

The doctors did as they were told, allowing the friends to see Tommy. Kim started crying and James wrapped his arms around her.

She pulled away for a second to lean over Tommy. Grabbing his hand in hers, she bent down and kissed his cheek before moving to whisper in his ears. "You listen to me Tommy Oliver; you fight this and come back to me. You hear me? Don't you dare give up!"

Pulling back, Kim caressed his face. "I love you Handsome." She kissed his lips briefly and softly before moving back into James' embrace.

"We have to go," a doctor said regretfully; it was a female and she knew Melissa and she knew of her son and the close friendship he had with the young people around him right now and was sorry that they were going through this.

"Take care of yourself bro," Jason squeezed Tommy's arm. "We're all here waiting."

The others gave their well wishes and moved back so the doctors—Melissa included—could take Tommy back to an OR.

Kim turned to the LSR team and moved from James' arms to walk over to them. She hugged each one, Carter being the last who held the embrace a little longer.

"Thank you," Kim said to the team.

"We were happy to help," Ryan said. "He's one of us."

Kim smiled before moving back to where James was sitting. She sat in the chair next to him and curled into his chest. The others moved to take up seats around her.

An hour later, Melissa walked into the waiting room and paused. Despite the situation, a smile came on her face when she took in the scene of everyone; along with group who was already there, two other groups had joined them. From what she had been told by the others, she recognized them as the Astro and Wild Force rangers, including Justin. She was beyond thankful for the friends that her son had.

Still smiling, she made her way to her husband's side, where Kim lay sleeping against his chest. After waking her up, she gave the room of friends Tommy's prognosis; he had a slight concussion, bruised ribs, some water in his lungs and had been near hypothermic from being in the cold water for so long.

"All in all," Melissa concluded smiling at the group, "considering what happened, Tommy was very lucky."

The room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

"So he's going to be ok?" Kim asked.

Melissa reached out to rub her hand against Kim's cheek. "Yes honey, he's going to be ok."

"Thank God," Trini smiled and the others nodded in agreement.

~...~

It's been a few weeks since Mercer Island exploded and Tommy was rescued from the water by the LSR team and things had settled down. August was almost over and they were moving into September. Tommy had confided in the others about the three rocks he had found on the island and what they were doing; he had also told them about what had happened the day the lab blew up and the island exploded.

He knew that he had to keep the rocks safe and he had admitted that he felt that they were going to be pulled back into the ranger world and the others had agreed.

A week ago, Tommy had found a house in Reefside, a town an hour away and after seeing the basement and where the house was located, had decided to buy it. He had told the others his plan of building a Command Centre in his basement and the other teams had decided to help out.

Now, the LSR, Astro, original and LG rangers were gathered at the Oliver's household, ready to help Tommy with moving and setting up everything.

"Wow," James said as he walked into his backyard seeing all the former rangers. "I didn't think we knew this many people."

"You don't dad," Kim laughed as she came to a stop next to him, "but we do."

"Really Kim?" James turned to tap her on her nose, "you couldn't just let me enjoy myself? You just had to burst my bubble?"

"Yes," Kim laughed as did Melissa who had come out and heard James' comments.

"So when are you guys going to your apartment?" Melissa asked.

"Just as soon as Tommy and Jason get back," Trini replied as she walked up to them. "They headed over to Reefside to deal with everything with the house and papers and everything. Turns out, Tommy got a really good deal; he got it really cheap as it was a senior couple and they just really wanted to get rid of the place."

"And what are you guys going to do?" James asked.

"Everyone is going help clean up the house," Kim answered, "both inside and outside; painting, washing, cutting the grass, clearing away some of those trees...those kind of stuff. With all of us here, it shouldn't take too long and then, we'll start moving the stuff in."

"Sounds good," Melissa nodded before she moved to join the other rangers out in the yard.

Not too long after, Tommy and Jason showed up and everyone made their way to Reefside. When they got there, work was immediately distributed; the girls would tackle the inside of the house, while the boys would be outside and in the basement.

Days passed and the cleaning of the house was more than underway. With everyone working together, Andros having the use of DECA as well as the LSR rangers still having the use of their equipment, it really was quick work.

The Wild Force rangers still had their own monsters and battles to fight, but they would drop in now and again to help. The only dark spot occurred on the eleventh of September with the destruction of the Twin Towers, the attack on the Pentagon and the near attack on Washington DC; the rangers, as well as the whole world, was numb with shock, grief and disbelief and the rangers used that time to reaffirm their bonds as friends, lovers, teammates and family.

Tommy and Kim had decided to put their wedding on hold and had concentrated instead on finishing their house.

~...~

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months; before they knew it, 2001 was over and it was 2002. The house itself was already cleaned and fixed up, but the basement still had some work to be done, which is where most everyone was.

The basement already had some equipment, but there was still more work to do.

"So what are we doing today?" Karone asked as she took the bandana from Ashley and wrapped it around her hair.

"There's a huge back space back there," Tommy gestured, "it's a back entrance that leads out into the forest. It just needs cleaning out as much as it can be. Andros' is going to bring some medical equipment, and later today, some of us are going back to the Old Command Centre to see what equipment are still there and are still good."

"Who's all going with?" Hayley asked as she took a cord from Andros to connect to one of the computers.

"I don't know," Tommy answered, "I know Jase and Zack are going, so is Billy and I think some of the LSR and LG rangers are going as well."

"What about Kim?" Taylor asked. "Is she going as well?"

"No," Adam answered as he walked down the stairs. "She said she doesn't think she can handle seeing the Command Centre."

"She hasn't been there since Zordon died," Cassie replied, "neither of us has."

"Oh," Taylor nodded sympathetically; she as well as the others had learned of how close the Space and original rangers were to Zordon, especially Kimberly. "Understandable."

Talking slowed between the friends as they continued working. By mid-afternoon, they had managed to completely clean away the main part of the basement and all that it needed were the rest equipment. So, Tommy, Jason, Zack, Billy, Carter, Ryan, Chad Lee, Kai, Mike and Leo had teleported to the Command Centre—courtesy of DECA—to see what equipment they could salvage.

The others had spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning out the back entrance of the basement, using DECA's help more than often enough.

~...~

At the ruins of the Command Centre, the boys were walking through the rubble of the place they had once considered—with the exception of the LSR and LG boys—their home away from home.

"I still can't believe how this place looks now," Zack said as he carefully stepped over some rocks.

"I know what you mean," Jason nodded in agreement, "it's kinda hard to think that this used to be our Command Centre; the place where we spent so much time; whether it was for preparing for battles or just hanging out."

"Come on guys," Billy said as he headed to the Medical Bay. "There might be some equipment lying around and intact."

"Didn't we get some from DECA?" Kai asked as he followed them.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "but still, it's better to have more than enough."

"Alright," Kai nodded in agreement. His eyes opened wide when they entered the Medical Bay. "Whoa."

"We know," Zack grinned. "Funny thing, Kim and Tommy spent more time in here than anyone else."

"Shut up," Tommy reached out to smack Zack's head, but he danced out of the way.

"Let's do this," Billy said and the guys went around the room, picking through the equipment, trying to see what was still in use.

Almost an hour later, they had gotten through the equipment and were ready to go back to Tommy's place.

Tommy raised his communicator to his lips. Since all of the past rangers still had their communicators, the first thing they had worked on was getting them to work once more. Now, contacting each other was easy.

"DECA?" he called. "We're ready to teleport."

"_Locking on to your signals," DECA responded. _

"Get ready," Jason said just seconds before they were all enveloped in the teleportation lights.

~...~

The boys reappeared in the basement, startling Hayley who was working on one of the computers.

"AHH!" Hayley jumped, almost toppling her chair over when the others appeared next to her.

"Sorry Hayles," Jason grinned.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Hayley breathed out as she held a hand over her heart.

"No," Zack shook his head.

"Where are the others?" Billy asked as he looked around the empty basement.

"Most of them are upstairs," Hayley said as she got her heart rate under control. "The others are further down," she gestured to the narrow hallway, "finishing out the cleaning."

"Well we got some equipment," Mike said.

"Good," Hayley sighed, "I'll let you guys set up. I'm going to take a break."

"But," Carter looked at her, "you're a computer expert. Shouldn't you stay and help?"

"I will," Hayley assured him, "later. Besides, there's Andros, and Billy and all the other technical experts here. Besides, I have something I want to run by Kim. So, later boys." She smiled and got up from her chair, heading towards the stairs leaving them staring after her.

"Well guys," Kai sighed, "let's get to work."

The guys all shared glances before proceeding to do just that.

~…~

"Hey Hayles," Kim grinned when she saw her redheaded friend walk into the living room.

"Hey," Hayley smiled as she took a seat next to her friend.

"Are the guys back yet?" Alyssa asked.

"Yeah," Hayley nodded, "I left them downstairs to set up the equipment they got along with the others." She turned to Kim, "I actually came up here because I wanted to run something by you."

"What's that?" Kim asked, looking at her friend.

"Well," Hayley started, "When we took that walk around town, I realized something."

"What's that?" Alyssa asked.

"This town doesn't have a youth centre," Hayley smiled, "so, I was thinking of opening one here, _and, _I was hoping that Kim would want to run it with me. What do you think?"

"I think it's awesome," Kim grinned, "that is such a good idea, and of course I'll run it with you. Do you know where it's gonna be or how you're going to set it out?"

"Well," Hayley launched into her idea and the details.

The girls offered their input and soon enough, a plan was formed. They couldn't wait to get started.

~…~

Despite Hayley's initial thoughts, finding a place wasn't as hard as she had thought it would be.

After two days of going through town, looking for a space, the girls had managed to find one. It was just a few blocks from the high school—about four—and was still close enough to the business area. It had a huge space and wasn't completely trashed so fixing it up wouldn't take too long to do.

It was perfect.

The last owner, an older couple, wanted to get rid of it quickly as they were moving and were willing to sell it at a low price.

After finalizing everything with the owners and getting the place checked out by the appropriate inspectors, the building was ready to work on.

Almost immediately, the group got started, splitting their time between the house and the café. It took months to finish everything, but by the time December came around, the house was completed and the café was almost done.

"I can't believe we're done," Trini groaned as she looked around the house.

"I know," Kim smiled, "I'm so excited about it. Can you imagine us being mentors to a group of teens the way Zordon was to us?"

"We don't even know if those rocks will choose anyone," Zack pointed out.

"They will," Kim said, "Tommy wouldn't have found them if they weren't meant to be used."

"She's right," Andros nodded from where he was sitting on the bottom steps with Ashley sitting next to him. "Besides, the basement might be finished, but we still have work to do on the rest of the stuff, like the morphers and the zords and the equipment."

"Well the zords will pretty much take care of themselves," Billy said as he turned around from the computer, "and the morphers are almost finished. Plus we've got the Morphin' grid set up, as well as the teleportation system."

"And we've started on building a secondary base at the café," Kai added on. "Which should take just a few weeks to set up, maybe a month or two."

"True," Aisha nodded. "Speaking of, has Hayley figured out the name for it as yet?"

"No," Kim shook her head, "she said she's still thinking. I told her I didn't mind if she named it Hayley's Cyber-Space Café but she refused. She said it wasn't just hers because she and I bought it together and we both deserved to have our names on it. And then she went on to say that even though she and I bought it, it belonged to all of us."

"Maybe she could give it a name related to the ranger world," Ashley suggested.

Kim and Aisha exchanged looks.

"That's a great idea Ash," Kim grinned at the girl, making her blush. "I'll let Hayley know."

"Hey guys," Jason greeted as he came downstairs.

"Judging by that smile on your face I'd say you found the place?" Zack asked with a grin.

"I did!" Jason laughed as he bounded into the room.

"What place?" Andros asked.

"Well I decided that since Hayley was opening the café," Jason explained, "and since it would be more technological than Ernie's meaning the computers and TVs and stuff, that it wouldn't have any place for kids to do karate or exercise or anything like Ernie's did. So I thought it'd be cool to open up a place that provides all that."

"That's actually a really good idea," Andros nodded.

"So where is it?" Kim asked as she looked over at her big brother.

"Right across from Hayley's place," Jason announced to the room, shocking them.

"Are you serious?" Aisha raised an eyebrow. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"I talked to the owner and I explained my idea to him and he liked it," Jason said, "said he wasn't even going to sell me. He just signed over the ownership to me."

"What?" everyone was shocked once again.

"I know!" Jason nodded, "I was shocked too! He said that the town didn't have any place like that and if it's something that'll keep kids off the streets and out of trouble, then he's all for it. Apparently, he lost a family member a few years ago to some gang thing and he doesn't want to see that happen to anyone else."

"That's so sad," Ashley sighed. "I feel bad for him."

"But what kind of place is it?" Billy asked.

"It's big," Jason said, "Tommy and I checked it out already. It used to be some office or something. Once we clear out all the desks and stuff, there'd be more than enough room."

"Hey guys," Wes called out from the stairs.

"Hey Wes," the others greeted.

"What are you doing here?" Aisha asked, "Not that we're not happy to see you."

"I'm actually here to talk to Hayley," Wes said.

"What about?" Hayley asked as she came down behind him followed by Trini, Tommy, Kat, Rocky and Adam.

"My dad wants to furnish the café," Wes spoke without preamble.

"Wait, what?" Hayley stared at the man in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"Well I told him about what we were doing," Wes explained, "and he liked it. So he decided that since we did everything else, he wanted to contribute as well. So, he wants to donate the TVs and computers and the couches and chairs to the café."

While Hayley stared at Wes in disbelief, Jason looked thoughtful before turning to Wes.

"Hey do you think he'd want to furnish my place too?"

"Jason!" Trini smacked him on the shoulder, but she couldn't stop the laughter from leaving her.

"What?" Jason defended, "if he's willing to help, then I gotta get mine too! Gotta strike while the iron's hot."

Wes laughed and shook his head, "What place?"

"A dojo," Jason told him, "a place where kids can do karate, dance, gymnastics and exercise and everything."

Wes shrugged, "Sure why not? I'm sure he wouldn't be opposed."

"Wes," Hayley started, "I can't let you do that. Or your dad."

Wes rolled his eyes, "Hayley, my dad is ridiculously rich and this is something he really wants to do. He has all this money and he wants to spend it on something that will help people, especially kids. So it won't be a problem for him to furnish the café _and _the dojo."

"Are you sure?" Hayley asked.

"Positive," Wes nodded.

"Trust him Hayley," Tommy said as he walked over to Kim, "Wes' dad always said what use is having money if he can't use it to make someone happy? Trust me, Mr Collins will be more than happy to dish out the money for this. Heck, he helped with all this." Tommy waved his arm to emphasize the basement.

Hayley's eyes widened, "I didn't know that."

"And now you do," Rocky quipped, making the others laugh.

"So, can I give him the go ahead?" Wes asked, looking at the redhead.

Hayley bit her lip and looked from Wes to Kim to the others, all of whom were nodding their heads 'yes'. "Ok."

Wes grinned, "It's a good thing you said yes because everything is already on route."

Hayley shook her head, trying to fight the smile from breaking through, "I can't believe you. You didn't even know I'd say yes."

"I didn't have to know," Wes replied cheekily, "Even if you had said no, everything would've been here and you would've had to accept them. So it would've worked out anyways."

Everyone laughed, including Hayley.

"Looks like it' good news for everyone," Rocky chuckled, "I got a job, the café is going to open soon, Jason is going to work on his dojo—

"You got a job?" Adam interrupted. "When and where?"

"You got it?" Aisha cut off Rocky's reply as she walked over to him, "Are you serious right now?"

"I'm serious," Rocky laughed, "I got it!"

"Rocky that's awesome!" Aisha squealed as she jumped into his arms.

"Um, hello?" Zack waved his hands, "for those of us in the dark?"

"Yes I would like to know the answer to Adam's previous questions as well," Billy added on.

"Well I didn't tell anyone because I wasn't sure I'd get it but," Rocky said, "I applied at a restaurant here in town, and I got it. I start next week as the assistant chef."

"Rocky that's amazing!" Kim gushed as she rushed to hug him, "Oh I am so definitely coming there to eat."

"Which means I don't have to cook as often," Tommy grinned, "Score for me."

"Oh I see," Rocky glared playfully, "you guys only like me for my cooking."

"Yes," the original rangers replied as one, making the others laugh.

"So I take it he's a good cook?" Wes asked.

"His mom taught him," Aisha replied, "since we were kids, she always pulled Rocky into the kitchen, telling him that just because he was a guy didn't mean he couldn't learn how to take care of himself; like cooking, doing laundry, etc."

"So let's see if I got this right," Andros spoke up, "Kim is running the café with Hayley, Rocky has a job at a restaurant—

"Hopefully Zack and Adam will run the dojo with me," Jason injected looking at the two guys.

"I'm in," Adam nodded. It's not like he had anything else to do, and even then, he couldn't imagine living anywhere else when majority of his friends were right here.

"You know you're not doing it without me," Zack laughed.

"Same here," Kat added, "I can do the books and stuff and maybe teach some ballet."

"And I can definitely help out with the gymnastics section," Kim said with a smile.

"So all of you are here," Andros said, "Anything else?"

"And Tanya and I both got jobs at the local vet," Aisha smiled.

"Seriously?" Ashley asked.

"Yep," Tanya nodded, "right now, we'll just be learning and doing part time until we get up to speed and on to full time."

Andros turned to Trini, "What about you?"

Trini laughs, "Well, after Tommy got the house here, I started looking for jobs and I got one at the elementary school. So, I'm teaching at Reefside Elementary. Or rather, I'll be shadowing the teacher I'm replacing. Her and husband are moving to be with her sister."

"Looks like Reefside is getting a ranger invasion," Ashley laughed.

"You know it," Adam agreed with a smile.

~…~

Christmas came and went and they rang in 2003 with a New Year's Eve party at Ernie's.

The next couple of months became a productive and busy time for the group of friends.

It took just over two months to finish the command centre at the café and to furnish the entire place as well as the dojo. And by April, both places were completed and ready to open, which was perfect as it was just in time for Spring Break.

The dojo opened first; it was named _The Mighty Morphin' Dojo_, a tribute to the ranger legacy that bound them all.

A week later the café opened, and Hayley had finally settled on a name; _RC's Cyber Place_. It had been a choice between that and _Z's Cyber Place _but in the end, she had decided not to go with that as she had not known Zordon. Yes he had been someone very important to her friends, but since she had never met him personally, she hadn't felt comfortable using his name.

It took a while, but soon enough, both places became a thing in town. Parents became excited about the dojo, especially those with younger kids, and teens were happy with the modern look to the cafe, and both places soon became the place to hang out after school and on the weekends.

Now it was mid-August, and finally, the group of friends were able to just relax and enjoy themselves, as well as their jobs.

Tanya and Aisha had become full time vets and come September, Trini would be employed full time at the elementary school.

Rocky worked part time at the restaurant so that he could help with the food at the café, and Kim split her days between the café and the dojo helping out Kat, Jason, Zack and Adam.

Whereas Billy had gotten a job with a local company testing their security programs by breaking through them and then creating even tighter ones.

And to add to it, Tommy had gotten a job teaching science at the high school.

The rest of the former rangers had gone back to their own hometown—with those from outer space going back to their planet—as they all had jobs to do, but each team had made plans to drop in occasionally.

As the original rangers, and Hayley, settled around Tommy and Kim's backyard for a barbeque—with laughter, music and talks echoing in the air—they all shared looks with each other.

It had been a busy couple of years for them, but it had been worth it. They had been through a lot together, and they all knew that not only was their bond was as strong as ever, but they all had people they could depend on for anything.

It was something they would need to get through the next year as they would be pulled back into the ranger world and all the trouble that entailed; trouble that would test them and push some to their breaking point.

Of course they didn't know that, so for now, they were just enjoying each other and their lives.

* * *

**A/N 2: **ok so that's the chapter. what did you guys think? oh and since some people don't like Author's Notes as chapters, I've decided to stop doing that. So any news about the story, I will post on Facebook, so come and find me there (same name; mykkila09)...

**A/N 3: **now that you've read everything, please review.

_xoxo Kila xoxo_


	3. Adventures

**Setting: **Dino Thunder; starts with the 'Moon Mission' and continues on through DT.  
**Story Summary: **Through unexpected situations, some of the former rangers are called back to action. They did their duty and life went on, but trouble stirs as a former ranger stumbles across a new power source. With the help of friends—near and far—they will create and mentor three teens into becoming the newest members of the ranger family. This is the story of the Dino Thunder Rangers.  
**Chapter: 3: **Adventures  
**Episode Counterpart: 1-2: **Day of the Dino Part 1 and 2  
**Chapter Word Count: **11,507**  
Warning: **this story has now been upgraded to a **high T**—like 16 and older—or a **light** **M **due to the mentions of **Abuse (Past and Present), Self-harm, Adult Language, Brief Nudity **and **Some Sexual Situations.** Please discontinue reading if any of the mentioned above is offensive or may be a trigger warning.

**Review Response:**

**MF 22: **Oh sweetie, I have no intention of doing the Trent/Kira thing; you should check out my profile and you'll find my reason lol. Like you said, Conner was there for Kira a lot more than the others; he really helped her. And the same goes for Kira as well; she's the one who made him change how much of a jock he was into the guy he became at the end of the series. She helped him grow up; ok sure, being a ranger helped too, but I think Kira had a huge hand in that as well. I mean, there were scenes of the two of them having walks and talks without the others. He's always been her biggest supporter.

And, I agree; forced is the word used to describe Trent/Kira. In my opinion, it was a disastrous attempt to fix what had happened between Tommy/Kim; come on, he's the white Dragon ranger, she has the pterodactyl zord; she plays guitar and sings, he was evil and then turned good and joined them…sounds familiar?

I am a Conner/Kira shipper all the way! So no worries on that hon…okay?

**A/N: **enough chitchat from me; here's the new chapter. Enjoy! And thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and pretty much loved this story so far! You guys are awesome! Now…onto the story.

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban. I am not making any money from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"Speaking"  
_"Speaking over the phone"_  
_'Thinking'  
_**Sign language**

**O.P.D.: **_Tues. 23__rd__ July, '13._

* * *

_Previously on ADD;_

_-Tommy went on his dig with Anton Mercer and Terrance Smith _

_-meteor rocks infused with the same properties as the ranger power were found_

_-the island exploded, but Tommy is found by the LSR team_

_-Tommy and Kim move to Reefside where they set up a command centre due to the power rocks that Tommy had found on the island_

_-the original rangers all found jobs in Reefside_

_-the dojo and café open_

_-Tommy gets a job at Reefside High_

* * *

_Two weeks before school opens_

Kim rolled over in bed, frowning as she heard the shower going. She glanced over at the clock on the bedside table, and let out a groan as she dropped back onto the pillow when she saw the time; 7:15.

Wondering what her fiancé was up to, she got out of bed and made her way into the bathroom. "Tommy?"

"Yeah Beautiful?" Tommy replied as he pulled the shower curtain aside.

"How come you're up so early?" Kim asked between yawns.

"I have to go to the high school," Tommy answered as he let the shower curtain drop to finish his shower.

"Why?" Kim asked. She grabbed her toothbrush and the toothpaste as she waited for his answer.

"Some last minute preparations," Tommy told her, "school is only two weeks away and I want to make sure I have everything in order. What about you? What are you doing today?"

"I'm gonna be at the café," Kim said.

"Ok," Tommy nodded, though she couldn't see him. "Well, do you want a ride or are you taking your own car?"

"Well you're going into town anyways," Kim mused, "and I don't think I have any errands to run. So I don't see the point in taking the two cars. And besides, if I do have anywhere to go, I can always one of the others' car."

Tommy opened the shower curtain and nodded at her, "Alright."

"Here you go," Kim smiled at him as she handed him his towel.

"Thanks Beautiful," Tommy pressed a kiss to her cheek on his way out.

Twenty minutes later, after both were showered and dressed, they left the house and made their way into town.

~…~

Across town at another home, things were not so simple.

Kira Ford, a soon to be junior at Reefside High, was leaving her home in a hurry. As she stormed down the walkway, yelling could be heard from inside the house.

As was the norm in her house, her parents were arguing, and she was tired of listening to it, tired of arguing with them when it seemed like nothing she said ever made a difference.

They still acted like she didn't matter and they still ignored what she wanted.

Fighting back her tears, knowing they were useless and she shouldn't even bother wasting her time crying on them, she didn't see the person heading for her and she walked right into them.

It was a boy with dark brown hair, brown eyes and he was wearing a red, sleeveless top with blue jeans.

Kira recognized him as Conner McKnight, the soccer player from school. Or more aptly put, the King of Jocks.

"Whoa!" Conner stumbled back when Kira crashed into him. "You ok?"

Kira pulled away harshly, "I'm fine."

Conner stared at the girl, taking in her curly, dirty blond hair and hazel eyes that were glaring at him. _'Damn, she's hot.'_

"My name's Con—

"I know who you are!" Kira cut him off. She could still hear her parents arguing and all she wanted was to get as far away as possible and quickly too.

Conner stepped back, brown eyes widening with shock over the harsh tone. He couldn't believe she was being so rude and he didn't even do anything!

Just then, an older woman—Kira's mother—stuck her head out the door, "Kira Elizabeth Ford! Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm going for a walk!" Kira yelled back without turning around.

"Kira, you come—

"Just leave me alone!" Kira replied and she took off.

Conner watched the entire thing silently. He wanted to say something, but he had no idea what. So he just watched as Kira stormed down the street. Shaking his head, he turned to go home. Shaking off what just happened, he hurried home.

"_Conner is that you?" _a woman's voice yelled when the door opened.

"Yeah mom it's me," Conner yelled back, letting the door slam shut behind him.

Jessica McKnight walked out of the kitchen and into the living, wiping her hands on the apron hanging around her waist. She had the same brown eyes as her son, but she had blonde hair that was cut chin length.

"So your dad just called," Jessica said as she walked over to her son.

"Is everything ok?" Conner asked.

"Yeah," Jessica nodded, "his job's going good and Eric joined an academy."

Conner froze on his way upstairs. "An _academy_? Eric?"

Jessica laughed, "I know, I reacted the same way. Apparently, it's a martial arts academy. Your dad thinks it'll help him learn discipline."

Conner snorted, "Sorry mom, but Eric standing still learning everything that martial arts has is funny."

Jessica smacked her son's arm, though the smile was on her face, "Stop it!"

"So what's for dinner?" Conner asked just as his stomach gave a loud growl. He blushed.

"Soon," Jessica laughed, "now go wash up and take your soccer stuff out of the hallway and back in your room where they belong."

"Yes mom," Conner grinned as he turned to go upstairs.

Jessica shook her head and went back to the kitchen.

Up in his room, Conner dropped on his bed with a bounce. He grabbed his soccer ball and threw it in the air. As he did so, his thoughts went back to Kira.

He thought about the arguing he had heard coming from her house and Kira's reaction. She had said she knew who he was, but he didn't know her. Did he?

'_Nah…I would've remembered a hot babe like that,' _he thought to himself. _'She was pissed today though. Man, her mom looked angry too.'_

The soccer ball bounced off the roof and landed on the floor, hitting the remote and turning the TV on.

A game was on, Real Madrid against Barcelona, and Conner's attention was captured, pushing all thoughts of Kira from his mind.

~…~

Over the course of the next two weeks, pretty much everyone was preparing for the first day of school.

At the McKnight house, Conner couldn't wait for school either. Being in school meant soccer and girls.

One girl in particular was still in his thoughts. He still couldn't get Kira out of his head. Normally when he thought about a girl, it was just to get a quick date or sex, but somehow, it was different with her.

He didn't just want to date her, he wanted to get to know her, to find out more about her, especially what was going on with her parents.

It was a strange feeling for the jock, but unknown to him, it was one that would grow stronger over the next few weeks.

~…~

At the Ford house, said person that Conner was thinking about was counting the days to school knowing that it'd be a reason for her to be out of her house; something that she desperately wanted.

Kira was in her room, door open, when she heard the yelling start up again. Letting out a groan, she got up and closed the door.

She went back to her bed, grabbing her mp3 player as she did so. She sat with her back against the headboard and stuck the headphones in her ear to block out the noise.

As she lost herself in the music, she ignored the tears running down her cheeks. Her gaze fell to her arm and as she tugged her sleeve further down her arm, she couldn't help but to wonder if anything would ever change.

They would, and it will be through situations she would never expect.

~…~

It was the first day of school.

"Tommy!" Kim shouted up the stairs, "You're gonna be late!"

"_No I'm not!" _came the reply.

"It's a quarter to seven Handsome!" Kim returned. She waited and had a grin on her face when she heard the loud footsteps as Tommy ran down the stairs.

"Shit! I'm late!" Tommy said as he rushed past Kim and went directly to the kitchen.

Kim laughed and followed him. She leaned against the doorway and watched as her fiancé rushed around the kitchen. He had been going to the school pretty much every day for the last two weeks to finish prepare for his upcoming school year.

He had been adamant that he would early on his first day, but she—and everyone who knew Tommy—knew that that wouldn't happen.

Taking pity on him, Kim decided to help him get out the house. She grabbed his travel mug—already filled with coffee—as well as his wallet and keys.

Tommy, briefcase in hand, looked around the room, "Did I forget anything?"

"Ahem," Kim cleared her throat, drawing his attention, showing him the items she held in her hand.

Tommy let out a sigh before smiling sheepishly at his fiancée. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Handsome," Kim grinned in reply as she kissed him, "Now go."

Another kiss, and Tommy was out the door. Minutes later, his jeep could be heard pulling out of the driveway.

Back in the house, Kim shook her head with a laugh as she went upstairs to get ready for her day.

~…~

Like at any high school, the first day at Reefside High was a madhouse. Students were all over the place, everyone finding their friends and group (cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, etc.).

Pulling into the faculty parking lot, Tommy couldn't help but to feel just a little overwhelmed. Reefside High seemed more rambunctious that Angel Grove High was…at least when he had been a student there.

Holding and releasing a deep breath, he quickly got out and made his way into the school. As he did so, he passed by a student—female, blond, curly hair—sitting on one of the benches with a guitar and a notebook next to her. He looked at her and couldn't help but to remember Kim when they had been in school with her guitar as well.

Shaking the memory away, he made his way inside, unaware of the chaos that was about to happen.

_(Ethan)_

Ethan James couldn't stop the giddy grin from taking over his features as he typed away on his laptop. He and his friend had hacked into the sprinkler system to give the students a proper welcome back.

"Dude are you sure we should be doing this?" Ethan's friend asked.

"Just chill, ok?" Ethan replied without looking at him, "this is gonna be epic and we're not gonna get caught."

He typed some more, "You ready?"

The friend bit his lip before nodding, a grin on his face. "Do it."

Ethan grinned in reply, "Here we go." He pushed the enter button and watched as the sprinklers came to life, the students screaming as they all tried to get out of the way.

Ethan grabbed his umbrella and popped it open as he walked through the carnage he had created with that smile still on his face.

A smile that stayed there until he was accosted by their new principal Elsa Randall. He had gained detention, but in his mind, it had been worth it.

_(Kira)_

Kira shifted her guitar to fit more comfortable and then she started playing. Music always calmed her down and gave her an escape from her home life. It gave her hopes and dreams of getting away from her family and this town and finding something better for herself.

As she played, losing herself in her song, she was vaguely aware of some of the students moving closer to her and listening to her.

Kira's body became more relaxed as the stress and tension eased from her. She was so into her music that she wasn't aware of the principal heading towards her until the woman was standing in front of her.

"Ms Ford!" Elsa snapped, her presence sending the rest of the students scurrying away. "What do you think you are doing?"

Kira looked up at the woman briefly before directing her gaze back to her book, where she closed it. "I was playing."

"Well don't you know that's against the rules?" Elsa scolded.

Kira's head snapped up at the words, "Since when?"

"Now!" Elsa smirked, "Detention Ms Ford for playing that atrocious music on school grounds."

"You can't do that!" Kira protested as she stood up.

"I just did," Elsa grinned, a decidedly evil one, and walked off.

Kira fumed as she watched the woman go, but did nothing but grab her stuff and stormed into the school.

Her bad day had just gotten worse.

~…~

Tommy stood at the front of his class. Though he was a little nervous, he didn't show it. He had been a leader of the Power Rangers more than once and had fought against monsters; he could handle a high school science class.

"Alright class," He spoke, drawing everyone's attention, "Settle down while I take roll."

The students became quiet, though some of the girls started whispering the moment they took notice of their teacher.

Tommy took roll, eyebrows raising just a little when he got to Kira's name and recognized her as the girl who had been playing the guitar.

"Conner McKnight," Tommy called. When no answer came, he looked up at the students and repeated the name. "Conner McKnight."

"He's not here," a girl, Mabel Evans replied, "he's probably on the soccer field."

'_Great, my first day and already one of my students decided not to show up,' _shaking his head, Tommy thanked the student, "Thank you Ms Evans."

"No problem," Mabel grinned, one that was bordering on flirtatious.

Tommy ignored it, or rather, he was oblivious to it, and he continued with roll. When he was done, he walked around the desk and leaned against it.

"So," he started, "My name is Dr Tommy Oliver and I'll be your science teacher for the rest of the school year. Does anyone have any questions?"

Hands shot into the air, the majority of them being female.

"Yes Cassidy?" Tommy picked the blonde in the second row.

"How old are you?" Cassidy asked, "Aren't you a little young to be teaching high school?"

The girls, with the exception of Kira and Krista, all giggled at that.

"Are you single Dr Oliver?" another student asked.

Tommy levelled a flat look at the students, "I assure you I am old enough to be teaching and my personal is none of your business and not open for discussion. Any other questions?"

"About the class?" he added on when he saw the gleam in Cassidy's, as well as a few other girls', eyes.

No one raised their hand and Tommy started with his class. Ten minutes in, the principal showed up at the door with a student.

"Missing something?" Elsa sneered as she guided Conner inside.

_(Conner)_

Conner smirked as he stared down the kid in the goalie position and without warning, kicked the ball straight towards the goal, and the kid.

Said student squeaked and dropped out of the way.

"Dude," Conner lost his smirk with a groan, "You're supposed to stop it."

"I'm sorry!" the teen muttered, "but I was scared." The student looked around, noticing that the place was empty as everyone else had already gone inside. "We should go in."

"Why?" Conner rolled his eyes as he went and got the soccer ball.

"Because I don't want to get caught and get detention," the student said, "it's not like it's Miller. We have a new principal."

"So?" Conner said, unaware that said principal was walking over to them. "Why are you so worried? The new principal could just be a stick in the mud or a lazy and stupid like Miller. Dude, you shouldn't be afraid. I'm not."

"Is that right?" Elsa growled, her eyes flashing with fury.

Conner whirled around, eyes widening with shock as he took in the pissed off principal. "Hello ma'am."

"Don't you 'ma'am' me boy!" Elsa snapped. "What is your name?"

"Conner McKnight," Conner said.

"Detention Mr McKnight," Elsa sneered, eyes glowing with sadistic triumph as she leaned closer to him, "If I had my way, snivelling brats like yourself would be placed in blood soaked barrels and dumped into shark infested waters."

She paused, and smiled, but it was not nice, "But, the school board says that is not possible, so I cannot do that. What I can do however, is assign detention as I see it fit and you Mr McKnight have detention this afternoon."

"I have soccer practice this afternoon," Conner protested.

"Not anymore," Elsa chuckled. "Now go." She pointed towards the school and watched as the two students walked pass her and headed inside. She could hear the grumblings from the McKnight kid and it filled her with pleasure.

She followed after the boys, not even looking when the other kid took off the moment he was inside, but she followed McKnight and frowned when she saw he wasn't heading to class as she had thought he would.

"Where do you think you're going?" Elsa demanded.

"To change out of my soccer uniform," Conner said, "there's no way I'm spending all day in these clothes."

Briefly, just briefly, Elsa considered ordering him to wear the sweaty uniform all day as punishment, but in the end, she decided not to.

"Well hurry up," She told him, "And do not even _think _of wasting time in there. I do not trust you to make it to your class so I will escort. You have five minutes to change. Go over the five minutes and that little time on the field will be the last you'll ever get."

Conner stared at the woman, wondering what in the world crawled up her ass and died and why he seemed to be on the receiving end of it. Instead of saying that though, he smartly kept his mouth shut and headed to the locker room.

He'd already be missing a chance to practice with detention. He didn't want her to give him any more.

Not wanting to push, it took him just over five minutes to change and put his stuff away. He stopped by his locker to grab his books and he walked down the hallway, his principal behind him every step of the way.

He felt like a kid and his mom was marching him to preschool his first or to his dad's office because he'd had a cookie before dinner.

The feeling left him frustrated and had him scowling.

Elsa walked up to the science classroom and opened the door without knocking.

"Missing something?" She sneered at the teacher as she roughly guided Conner into the room. "Keep better track of your students Oliver. Not a very good start for your first day."

Tommy gave a nod to the principal, but said nothing to her statement. He didn't think it would go over good if he told the principal 'fuck off' on his first day.

"Conner," He turned to his wayward student, "Find a seat. There's an open space next to Kira."

Conner perked up at the name and his eyes scanned the room until they landed on the blonde that he had met two weeks ago. With a grin, he walked over and sat down next to her.

"Hey babe," Conner greeted, expecting her to look at him or react like the other girls did.

Kira ignored him, cursing her teacher for sending him to sit next to her and cursing herself for choosing this seat.

Conner should've been put off by the lack of response, but for some reason he wasn't. There was just something about Kira that had his attention.

Tommy stared out at his class, more specifically at Conner and Kira. Something about the two of them drew his focus, especially Kira. There was something off about the girl, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Deciding to put it out of his mind for the time being, he focused his attention on the class.

"Alright, we're a little behind time but it's the first day so it's ok," Tommy said, "Now, before we start, I'm gonna tell you a little about myself—and nothing personal and again no questions beyond what I tell you—and you'll do the same."

A few students groaned, but most didn't complain as it meant not starting the school year with work.

~…~

While Tommy was going through his first day of school, Kim made her way to dojo. Kat had called her just before she had left this morning saying she needed to talk and she was curious as to what her blonde friend wanted to talk about.

Pulling into the dojo parking lot, she smiled—as she always did—when she saw the name. Still smiling, she made her way inside.

"Hey guys," she greeted when saw Jason and Adam.

"Hey sis," Jason replied and Adam waved.

"How come you're here so early?" Jason asked as he got up to greet her, "You usually go to the café first."

"Kat called, said she needed to talk," Kim said as she hugged him, "where is she, by the way?"

"In the office," Jason pointed over his shoulder.

"Where's Zack?" Kim asked as she started towards the back.

"At home," Adam chuckled, "his mom wanted him to run some errands for her, so he'll be in later today."

"He should just move here and be done with it," Kim shook her head, "it can't be good driving back and forth all the time."

Zack was the only one still living in Angel Grove. The others all had apartments around town; to save on money, Adam, Rocky, Tanya and Aisha had all a place together (a three bedroom apartment with two baths, a living room and nice-sized kitchen space, the entire apartment was very roomy…big enough and then some to fit all four of them), Jason and Trini had decided to live in the space above the dojo, turning it into an apartment and Kat and Billy had their own place as well.

Jason laughed as did Adam.

"You'd think?" Adam grinned.

"Talk to him," Kim stopped and turned to look at the two, "help him find a place in town."

"Will do Little Crane," Adam smiled at her.

"I knew I could count on my Prince," Kim grinned in return.

"Hey!" Jason mock glared at the two of them, "What am I, chopped liver?"

Kim laughed but didn't answer as she continued on to the office.

"Knock knock," she greeted as she opened the door.

"Hey Kim!" Kat stood up from her desk and smiled at her best friend.

The two girls shared a hug before Kim sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

"So PC what's going?" Kim asked.

Kat bit her lip and went over to her bag, pulling something out of it and holding it behind her back as she turned back to Kim.

"I haven't told anyone yet," Kat said nervously, "not Tanya and definitely not Billy. You're the first to know."

"Ok Kat," Kim stood up, "you're scaring me. What's going on? You're not sick or anything, are you?"

"Kinda," Kat smiled, "but it's only for about few months."

"What?" Kim asked faintly. Somewhere in her mind she made the connection, but it was taking a while to get to the forefront of her brain.

Kat brought her hand forward, showing the stick she was holding.

Kim's eyes dropped to the stick and then widened as she looked back up at her friend, "Kat, are you—

"Yeah," Kat nodded, unable to stop the blinding smile that took over her face.

"Oh my GOD!" Kim squealed as she jumped at the blonde, pulling her into a tight hug. "I can't believe this! We're going to have a baby!"

"Well technically I am, but yeah," Kat chuckled as the hug ended. She wiped the tears that had sprung up away.

"Details," Kim waved her words away, "So how far along are you?"

"Ten weeks," Kat revealed, much to Kim's shock. "You know I've been sick, but then it went away and I thought it was just a flu."

"We all did," Kim replied, remembering all the times when the blonde would rush to the bathroom.

"But then I started getting sick again like a week or so ago, so I decided to get a check-up," Kat said, "and the doctor's office called me yesterday and told me."

Kim gently smacked her friend on the arm, "You've known since yesterday and you didn't tell me? Or any of us?"

"I was completely terrified," Kat said as she sat down, gesturing for Kim to sit with her. "I mean, sure Billy and I talked about kids, you know? But, suddenly, it's here and it's real. I don't know how he's going to react."

Kim reached out and squeezed Kat's hand, "Do you think he's going to hate the pregnancy?"

"No," Kat shook her head, "I'm just worried that he won't be ready for it."

"I want to say he will because I've known him almost my whole life," Kim started, "but the truth is, I don't know how he'll react either because this situation is different to everything we've faced before."

"I know," Kat sighed. That's what she was afraid, but she could admit that she felt good knowing that someone who knew Billy since childhood felt the same she did.

"But on the other hand," Kim continued, a smile on her face, "even if Billy isn't ok with it, you have me and the others to be here and I can tell you, I am so ready right now!"

Kat laughed at the brunette's words and enthusiasm and couldn't help but to let it infect her. "You're right. I have you and the rest of the gang, so no matter what, I won't be going it alone."

"Exactly," Kim stood up, "now come on; I want something to snack on and you're getting something too. Gotta start taking care of my future niece or nephew."

Kat let out a groan but allowed herself to be pulled up, "I can just see how this pregnancy's gonna go."

"Well you're the first of us to be pregnant," Kim remarked as she stepped out the office.

"And I guess Dana and Kendrix and Cassie and Taylor and all the others who are already parents don't count?" Kat raised an eyebrow at the shorter girl.

"Oh you know what I mean," Kim said.

"Yeah I do," Kat nodded. Her friend meant the original rangers; Zordon's chosen eleven.

Kim bounced on her feet, "I can't wait to tell the others! This is gonna be so exciting! We're gonna have to do a lot of shopping!"

Kat laughed at her friend's joy. With the way the girl was acting, you'd think Kim was the one pregnant instead of her. But she didn't mind.

"What has you so excited?" Jason raised an eyebrow as he watched the two girls walk over.

Kim glanced at Kat, brown eyes wide with excitement as she begged the question with her eyes; _can I tell them?_

Kat laughed but gave a nod.

"Kat's pregnant!" Kim blurted out.

Adam and Jason's eyes went wide before the two of them were rushing the blonde, pulling her into a three-way hug.

"Congratulations!" Adam near shouted.

Kat laughed as she hugged them back, "Thanks guys!"

"Hey, hey!" Kim pulled the two away, "be careful! Baby on board here! You don't want to hurt her!"

Jason laughed at his little sister and pulled her into a hug as well before turning back to Kat, "How come Billy didn't tell us?"

"Well that could be because he doesn't know as yet," Kat grinned, "I'm pretty sure though that thanks to Kim everyone else will know before he does."

Kim tried to look apologetic, but she was still too excited so it didn't work. "Come on Kat, we have some shopping to do."

Adam looked at her, "isn't it too early to start shopping for baby stuff?"

Kim gasped and stared at Adam with wide eyes.

Next to him, Jason and Kat were both shaking their heads at their friend's slight stupidity. This was Kim; it was _never _too early to shop for anything!

"What?" Kim spoke, "Too early? Of course not! It's never too early for shopping. We have to get started right away."

Adam raised his hands in a placating gesture, "Of course…my bad. You girls go and have fun and don't forget to tell Billy before you tell anyone else."

"I won't," Kat hugged him once more before going over to Kim, "Come on Pinky1; let's go shopping."

Jason and Adam watched as the two girls walked out of the dojo before looking at each other.

"I can't believe it," Jason shook his head.

"I know right?" Adam nodded in agreement, "Billy is gonna be so shocked."

"True," Jason smiled, "and the way Kim was; if she's this excited for Kat and Billy, imagine how she's gonna be when it's her turn."

Adam grinned, "I don't know man; I can totally see all of us acting this way, or even worse, if Kim's the one pregnant."

Jason didn't reply to that, but he had none because he knew Adam was right. If it was Kim who had been pregnant, or even in the future when she _is _pregnant, everyone will be on cloud nine and probably completely overprotective.

"Well thank god Kim isn't the one pregnant," Jason said at last.

"Amen to that," Adam laughed and then groaned, "Oh God Kim is gonna make us her pack mules, won't she?"

Jason clapped him on his shoulder and said, very seriously, "Yes, yes she will, but we love her, so we'll just put on a smile and go with it."

Adam may or may not have let out a whimper at that.

~…~

By the time the day was over, Kat's good news had spread to the others leaving Billy as the only one who didn't know. The others were under strict orders not to tell their blue-eyed geek anything until Kat herself had spoken to him.

Of course, everyone was happy for the blonde, so it was a little difficult keeping the secret from Billy, but they had managed it.

Meanwhile, at school, Tommy was experiencing a few setbacks. Well…one…and it was named Elsa Santos, his new boss.

"Could you repeat that?" Tommy looked at the woman. She had stopped him on his way out of school.

"I know you are not deaf Dr Oliver," Elsa sneered. "You are in charge of detention this afternoon. Call it a welcoming present to being here at Reefside High."

'_Do not lose your calm. No matter how much fun it would be to rip her a new one or summon Dragonzord to stomp on her.'_

"And why me?" Tommy asked after he had gotten his mutinous thoughts under control.

"Because you're new and I said so!" Elsa snapped and turned and stormed back into her office.

Letting out a groan, Tommy turned towards the three students, recognizing them from his science class.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath.

"You know you can just let us go," Conner suggested with a lazy smirk.

"And then what? She assigns detention to you again tomorrow and me as supervising teacher but this time for a week instead of a day?" Tommy raised an eyebrow, "I don't think so."

This was not how Tommy had planned to spend the afternoon. His plans had included going home, taking a shower and then going out with his friends to celebrate the good news and then a relaxing night with his fiancée. Not supervising three kids for a detention.

Letting out a sigh, Tommy pulled out his cell phone, pressing speed dial two.

"_Hey Handsome," Kim greeted with a smile._

"Hey Kim," Tommy smiled, "Listen, I'm gonna be late."

"_And why is that?" Kim asked, knowing her fiancé's penchant for almost always being late._

"I have to oversee detention," Tommy told her, "apparently it's my gift for being the new teacher here."

"_Well that sucks," Kim replied._

"I know," Tommy sighed, "Listen, I have an idea that'll hopefully make this go by faster. So, I'll meet you at the café later. I'll call you when I'm done."

"_Alright," Kim said, "but hurry because I really want us to have a big celebration. Billy's been busy at work all day so Kat hasn't had a chance to tell him. But she said she's gonna tell him before they come to the café tonight and I want us to celebrate it."_

"Ok," Tommy smiled and shook his head. "I'll try. Talk to you later Beautiful."

"_Later Handsome," Kim replied back before she hung up._

Tommy closed his phone and turned back to the three, raising an eyebrow at Conner's smirk and Ethan's grin. Kira was looking down at the ground, barely paying attention to either of them.

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

"'Beautiful'?" Conner teased, "Dr O has a girlfriend."

"None of your business so stop asking," Tommy said firmly, "now, get up and let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get this over with and we can all go home."

"I'm cool with that," Ethan grinned as he bounded out of his seat.

The other two stood up, Conner's smile still firmly in place, and started out the school.

Tommy followed behind them and his brows drew together when he took in Kira.

Something about the way she carried herself had a disturbed feeling settling into his stomach. She was walking apart from the boys and had her head down. She hadn't said much, if anything at all, since this morning when he had her for class and even now, she still wasn't saying anything.

The other two were talking, but Kira was acting like she didn't hear them. Something was telling him to keep an eye on her.

They all made their way to Tommy's jeep and they headed off to the museum.

~…~

Later on, the three teens will wonder what had prompted them to keep wondering down a cave they had fallen into, but for now that's exactly what they were doing.

They had gotten to the museum, where the teacher had told them to find something interesting and he'd let them go. Of course they'd all wandered off, somehow ending up outside fighting these creatures before they found the cave…one which apparently led somewhere.

"What if it belongs to some woods animal or a crazed psycho?" Conner asked.

In front, Kira rolled her eyes at the question. _'I can't believe I got stuck with him of all people. I shouldn't be surprised though; nothing in my life ever goes how I want it to.'_

Conner turned his attention to Kira and leaned in close to whisper, "Dude, she's kinda hot, isn't she?"

Ethan shook his head, but didn't respond. He didn't know Kira, but from what he picked up from her, he knew she wouldn't like to be ogled the way Conner was doing her.

"I wouldn't be mess with her if I were you," Ethan warned.

Conner just grinned and moved up walk next to Kira, "so babe, what do you think this is?"

Kira froze and turned to glare at him, "Did you just call me 'babe'?" she turned to Ethan. "Did he just call me 'babe'?"

"Yes," Ethan nodded. He had warned Conner, but apparently the jock didn't hear of if he did, he had chosen to ignore him. Oh well. It was his funeral.

Kira turned her glare back at Conner, "_Don't _call me babe. Got it! I'm not one of your ditzy, airheaded fans that follow you at school."

With that, she continued walking, making sure to put some distance between her and the boys.

Conner watched her go, a confused look on his face.

"I told you to leave her alone," Ethan shook his head.

Conner jolted, as if forgetting the other boy was there. "Dude! Warning next time." He turned back and continued after Kira, but stayed quiet. His thoughts were all over the place, but the focus was Kira.

He had thought he would've gotten over her by the time school had start back up, but he hadn't. Instead, he was more intrigued by her than ever. Maybe it was the fact that she was the first girl at school that didn't giggle and blush when he talked to her or maybe it was the air of mystery around her. He didn't know what it was, but for some reason he was drawn to her.

"Holy shit!" Ethan's voice drew Conner from his thoughts and he looked up to see what the teen was going on about. When he did, his eyes widened.

"I think we stumbled onto Batman's cave," Ethan remarked.

Kira said nothing, though she herself was in shock at what she was looking at. This place actually belonged to someone, but who in the right mind would have something like this?

She tried to ignore the fact that Conner was standing close, but she couldn't. Somehow, someway, he had gotten under her skin. He was a jock and guys like him were mean and didn't pay attention to girls like her. And even if he did, why would he look at _her_?

But those thoughts still didn't stop the fluttering in her stomach whenever he was near or whenever she thought about him.

She had nothing to offer him though, and she couldn't understand why he wouldn't leave her alone. She'd made it perfectly clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Why couldn't he understand that it was best for her and for him, and if he just left her alone?

"What the hell are those?" Conner asked as he pointed to the three rocks across the room.

They exchanged looks and walked over to them.

"I don't think we should touch them," Kira cautioned, but despite her words, she felt drawn to the glowing yellow rock.

Conner looked at her, "Why?"

Kira scoffed and turned to face, locking eyes with him for the first time. She was struck speechless the moment the brown eyes locked onto her own. She wasn't the only one.

Conner found himself unable to say anything the second he saw those hazel eyes. They were a beautiful colour, but that wasn't the reason why. It was the depth of hidden emotion he could see in them.

Ethan stared at the two teens and shook his head with a grin. He could see the attraction between the two and he couldn't help but to wonder if anything at all would become of it.

But, he pushed the thoughts from his mind and refocused back on the glowing blue rock. He had an urge to take it, though he didn't know why, and so he did.

The moment his hand touched it, he felt a rush of _something_ go through him.

"Whoa!"

Ethan's exclamation had Kira and Conner breaking gazes and turning away from each other and they turned as one to look at him.

"You took it?" Kira questioned, "We don't know who this place belongs to, so I don't think we should go around taking up their stuff."

Conner reached out and grabbed the red rock, feeling the same rush that Ethan had.

"Whoa!"

"I know right?" Ethan grinned, "I felt it too."

Both boys turned to Kira.

"Take it," Ethan suggested.

"No," Kira took a step back.

"Come on," Conner took a step towards her, brown eyes pleading, though he had no idea why. "If it's anything to get us in trouble, I'll take the blame."

Kira made the mistake of looking at him, again, and got caught in his eyes and could feel her resolve breaking. What was it about this boy that had her so out of sorts?

So, against her better judgment, she grabbed the yellow rock. The same rush that the two felt had her eyes widening in shock.

"You felt it too, right?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah," Kira replied faintly. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Ethan shrugged.

"Guys we should probably get out of here," Conner said, "Dr O's probably wondering where we are and I don't know about you, but I don't want another detention."

The other two agreed and they hurried back the way they came. Of course things couldn't go easy as soon as they got back into the woods, they were attacked by those robots again, but this time a creepy looking dude was with them.

They understandably got their asses kicked as they had no idea what was going on, but the upside was that figured out that the rocks had given them some really weird powers.

Unsettled, the moment the robots disappeared, they hurried back to the museum where they found their teacher looking for them.

"You guys alright?" Tommy asked, eyes lit in concern, "You disappeared on me for a while."

The three teens exchanged looks, silently agreeing to keep what happened between themselves.

"We're fine," Conner answered with an easy grin. "So, is detention over?"

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "come on, we can leave now."

"Sweet because there is a game at home with my name on it," Ethan clapped his hands together with a grin.

"Dork," Conner muttered teasingly as he gently shoved Ethan.

Kira's eyes snapped over to the jock, unable to believe what she heard. How could he say that to Ethan after what they just went through? The anger fled her and confusion took its place when she saw Ethan roll his eyes but smile at Conner's words.

She couldn't help but to frown.

"Kira, you ok?" Tommy asked as he opened his door.

Said girl looked at her teacher, her expression blanked over. "I'm fine Dr O."

"Alright," Tommy gave a slow nod, "If you say so. Let's get out of here guys."

~…~

That night, when Kira got home, she went directly to her bedroom, ignoring her parents who were watching TV in the living room.

She closed her door behind her and sat on her bed with a heavy sigh. Today had been a crap day all around.

Eyes seemingly unfocused, Kira got up from her bed and went to lock her door before going to stand in front of the floor length mirror.

Slowly, methodically, she stripped her clothes off until she was standing there in just her underwear.

Getting detention first thing in the morning had just been the icing on the cake of an already bad start. Her parents, her mother especially, had been in a crappy mood and she—as always—had bared the brunt of it. Her body was covered in bruises, old new, the results of her parents' bad moods.

Her hands retraced the bruises as memory after memory hit. She could never understand why her parents were always fighting or what she had done to make them hate her so much.

She knew she wasn't loved. The bruises covering her body was proof of that. She was never hugged as a child and the only time her parents touched her was to hurt her.

Her hands and eyes drifted over until they settled on her arm. Her touch was gentle as she ran her fingertips up and down the length of her arm.

She could feel the pain building and the urge to cry, but she pushed it away. She hadn't cried in years, something that she had learned at a young age, and she wasn't about to start now.

So, she pushed the memories away and redressed. She went back to her bed and sat down, as she did, the rock glowed and caught her attention.

She picked it up, rolling it around in her palm as she remembered earlier that afternoon and everything that happened. The entire thing had been surreal.

But in all honesty, what stood out the most about the afternoon was her reaction to Conner. She was confused by the fluttery feelings in her stomach that happened whenever he was near her or whenever he smiled at her.

But it was his eyes; the warm brown eyes that seemed to compel her to open up to him and to trust him. Never before had she ever felt that urge before.

And it scared her; it really did. She avoided people, especially boys, because she had no idea how to act around them.

Guys like Conner didn't pay attention to someone like her because according to her parents, she was scarred, nothing and worthless.

Her gaze refocused on the rock. _'I can't deal with this. Not this rock and…and not him.'_

Determination settling within her, Kira made a choice. At school tomorrow, she would give the rock back and then, she would stay away from Conner.

It was for the best.

~…~

"Tommy?" Kim reached out and touched her fiancé's shoulder. The entire night he'd seem distracted. She'd picked up on it, but had decided to wait until they were at home to say something.

"What's wrong?" she continued.

"I don't know," Tommy sighed as he turned to face, "maybe it's nothing."

"Handsome," Kim pushed him to sit on the bed and then sat on his lap, "I know you and I know that look on your face and whatever it is, it is not nothing. Talk to me."

"It's one of my students," Tommy admitted, "the girl, Kira Ford. I don't know what it is, but there's something about her, something that's troubling me."

"Is she a bad student or something?" Kim asked.

"No, that's not it," Tommy shook his head, "it's something else."

Kim kissed his cheek, "You'll figure it out. I know you will." She trusted Tommy's instincts and she knew that if he said he felt something off about this Kira, then something was going on. She just hoped that whatever it was, it was nothing really bad.

"Let's go to bed," Kim said, "you have another day of adventure teaching those students."

Tommy groaned and fell back on the bed, drawing laughter from Kim. "Can't I just quit?"

"Nope," Kim giggled, "you and I both know that now that you've met them and have actually taught them, you're not quitting."

Tommy said nothing because he knew she was right.

"Who knows," Kim mused, "you might be their Mrs Appleby."

Tommy glared at Kim in mock horror and then proceeded to tickle her relentlessly.

Since neither one of them—or any of the others—had been down to the Centre, they didn't realize that the three rocks were missing.

~…~

True to her word, the first chance she got, Kira found Ethan and Conner and gave her rock to the jock.

Both boys had tried to stop her, but she had walked away from them. Although, that didn't stop them from trying to talk to her throughout the day; something which frustrated and confused her and had the rest of the student body wondering what the hell was going.

At the end of the day, the boys cornered her again, demanding an explanation, but she refused to give one.

"Why not?" Conner asked, unable to believe or understand why someone would give up having something as cool as a superpower.

"Just leave it!" Kira hissed, glaring at the two boys. "I said I'm out and I don't want a part of this. You don't need me. I'm sure there's a ton of girls that would be kill to be a part of something with Conner McKnight; find one of them and just leave me alone!"

Having said her peace, she stormed away.

"I guess that's that," Ethan muttered as he turned to walk away. He stopped when he realized Conner wasn't following him.

The jock was still staring after Kira.

"Conner?" Ethan called as he walked back to stand next to him. "Dude, just let it go. She doesn't want to."

Conner broke his gaze from Kira to glance at Ethan, "No." and then he took off after her.

Ethan rolled his eyes but followed anyways.

Conner had no idea why he couldn't let it go, especially since Kira had made it more than clear that she wanted nothing to do with the rocks or them, more specifically, him. But he just couldn't. He didn't know why, but he had the sense that there was more to her decision than she was letting on.

He didn't understand his fascination with her. All he knew was that there was something about Kira that made him want to be around her; it made him want to find out all that he knew about her.

"Kira wait!" Conner called out as he jogged to catch up to the blonde.

"Leave me alone Conner!" Kira stopped walking and turned around to yell at him. "I gave the stupid rock back and I told you I don't want to be a part of whatever."

Before Conner or Ethan could say anything, green lightening flashed, and a green and black portal appeared, spitting out the same robots they had fought the day before in the woods.

Immediately, the three were attacked and they tried to fight back, but not one of them had any experience fighting.

Soon enough, they were separated.

Conner managed to use his new super-speed to get the best of them while Ethan tapped into his new powers, shifting his skin to diamond hard in an effort to gain the upper hand.

Kira let out a scream, blowing back some of the robots, but also causing Ethan and Conner to stumble.

The moment the scream ended, she was grabbed from behind by three more robots. She struggled to get away, but couldn't and the robots and Kira disappeared in another green portal.

"Kira!" Conner yelled when he saw what happened.

"Oh God," Ethan panted out as he stumbled over to where Conner was. "What are we going to do?"

Conner stood there for a few minutes, thinking fast, before the answer came to him. "Dr O!"

Ethan looked at the teen in confusion, "What about him? What's he gonna do?"

"Look," Conner said as he turned and hurried to the parking lot. "Dr O's into all this science stuff, right? So we tell him about what happened with Kira and these rocks."

"And if he doesn't believe us?" Ethan asked as he followed the teen.

"He has too," Conner said. He stopped when he reached the parking lot. His scanned the place and he cursed when he realized that his teacher's jeep was not there.

"Damnit he left already."

"We could check his house," Ethan suggested. He wasn't too sure about going to the teacher, but Conner had a point and besides, Kira needed their help.

"You know where he lives?" Conner looked at him with a mixture of hope and disbelief.

"Of course," Ethan shrugged.

"Let's go," Conner said as he turned and ran to his car. "Get in."

The moment the dark-skinned teen was in the car, Conner took off out of the parking lot and to where their teacher lived.

Fifteen minutes later, they were turning down the road that led to Tommy's place. As they pulled into the drive, Ethan couldn't help but to say something.

"It's a little creepy that he lives way out here."

"Yeah," Conner nodded. He spotted the jeep and a white Ford Fusion and pulled in next to the Taurus. "He's home."

The two boys got out the car and hurried up to the door. They knocked, but there was no answer.

They waited five minutes before knocking again.

Still no answer.

Conner reached down and tried the door and found it unlocked, so he opened it.

"Dude!" Ethan hissed, staring at the teen with wide eyes.

"Look, Kira's in trouble," Conner replied, "and right now, Dr O's the only that may be able to help."

That said, he walked into the house, and after a few minutes, Ethan followed.

They called out for their teacher but got no answer. They wandered throughout and ended up the kitchen where they saw that a door leading to the basement was open.

"Maybe he's down there," Conner said as he walked over to the door. He pulled open and went down the stairs.

When they got to the bottom, they were shocked to realize that it was the same place they had been in the day before. The only difference was, there was a woman sitting at the computer.

"Uh," Ethan stammered.

Kim whirled around and her eyes widened at the sight of the two teens. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Ethan and Conner exchanged looks before looking back at the woman.

"If you're looking for extra credit," Tommy said from behind them, "then you're in the wrong place."

The two boys whirled around to see their teacher walking up to them.

"Dr O," Ethan started.

"Kira's in trouble," Conner cut in.

Tommy froze and Kim let out a soft gasp as she made her way to him.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked.

Ethan glanced between his teacher and the woman before he started talking. Everything spilled out and when he was done, he stayed silent as he watched his teacher and woman, hoping that one of them believed him because it was the truth and because Kira needed their help.

"So you have the rocks?" Kim asked as she instinctually looked over to where she knew the rocks were supposed to be.

"Yeah," Conner nodded, finally taking her in. She was short, with long brown hair and brown eyes that for some reason instantly put him at ease and left him comfortable. She was wearing pink shorts and a white tank top that had a picture of the pink and green power rangers on it.

Tommy turned away, "Look, just put the rocks back and then go home. We'll worry about Kira."

"I can't do that Dr O," Conner said.

"Did you bond with them?" Kim asked, though she already knew the answer. She could feel it; it was the same way she had felt back in high school when Trey had shown and had to choose who would receive the Gold ranger powers.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked.

"Well when you touched them," Kim explained, "did you feel anything?"

"We did," Ethan nodded, "it was a rush of _something _and then, next thing we know, we can do thing."

Kim turned to Tommy.

"No," Tommy said immediately, reading the look on her face correctly. "They're just kids Kim."

Kim raised an eyebrow. _**And we weren't?**_

"It's not the same," Tommy groaned, "I can't knowingly put them through that."

Kim shrugged. _**You don't have a choice Handsome.**_

"No," Tommy shook his head and continued over to the computer.

Kim let out a frustrated groan. **Pig-headed asshole**

Conner let out a choked laugh, drawing a look of confusion from Ethan and surprise from Kim.

"**You understand me?" **Kim signed at him.

Letting out a small grin, Conner nodded and signed back, **Yeah. I mean, it's been a while since I've had to sign, but I do**

Kim smiled at him before sighing and turning to her fiancé. "Tommy."

Tommy turned around and looked at the teens, "Are you sure you bonded with the rocks?"

Conner used his super speed to appear right in front of his teacher, "We're sure. And we're not leaving."

"Fine," Tommy groaned and stood up. "Come on. Show me where Kira was taken from."

All four of them started out of the basement, but at the last minute, Kim ran back and grabbed a case and the three morphers.

"Just in case," she muttered to herself before hurrying after the other three.

"I still can't believe you guys found my basement," Tommy said as he started up the jeep.

"I still can't believe that it is _your _basement," Ethan snorted, "or that you even have a basement like that."

"How are we gonna find Kira?" Conner asked, impatience colouring his tone, with a hint of curiosity also.

Kim shifted in her seat to look at him. He was tall, she knew that, but it was his eyes that held her attention; not only were they similar in shade to her own doe brown colour, but there was a pain in them, something almost hidden.

"**You care about her, don't you?" **she signed.

Conner looked surprised, **"Why would you say that? I don't even know her other than her name."**

"**So?" **Kim replied back, **"I can see it your eyes and hear it in your voice. You may not realize it, but she means something to you."**

Conner stayed silent as he thought on Kim's words. Was she right? Sure he'd been thinking about Kira a lot, and sure there was something about her that drew him…but, he barely knew her. She couldn't mean a lot to him when he knew nothing about her…right?

Ethan looked between Kim and Conner but said nothing. Who would've thought that the dumb jock from school actually knew sign language? It was then he realized he had no idea who the woman was.

"Uhm," Ethan said, "I don't mean to be rude, but we have no idea who are you."

"Oh!" Kim grinned, "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Kimberly Hart, soon to be Oliver. I'm Tommy's fiancée."

"Nice to meet you," Ethan smiled, "I'm Ethan James."

"Conner McKnight," Conner said and then he grinned, "Dr O's fiancée huh? Wow…Dr O how'd you bag such a babe?"

Kim tried to stifle her grin, she really did, especially at the way Tommy's eyes darkened. He really was jealous, and so protective, especially after Florida.

"Conner do you want me to put you out?" Tommy asked as he got his emotions under control.

"Nope," Conner shook his head.

"So how _are _we gonna find Kira?" Ethan asked, "I mean, it's not like she's just gonna drop out of the sky and—

A thud cut off the rest of his statement and the jeep squealed to a stop.

Kim looked at Tommy, "Did someone just fall on the jeep?"

"Ow," came from the front and they watched as a girl stood, holding her side, and her curly blonde hair fluttering around her.

"Kira!" Conner said as he got out of the jeep, the others following quickly.

"You ok?" Conner asked as he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder.

Kira flinched away from the touch but didn't move any further, "Sorry, and yeah I am."

"I can't believe that actually worked," Ethan remarked surprised.

Kira looked at all of them, especially Kim, but before she could say anything else, loud roars echoed in the air.

"What the hell was that?" Conner asked as he looked to where the noise could be coming from.

"Over there!" Kim pointed in the direction of downtown and they saw three robots attacking the city.

"Whoa!" Kira took a step back, putting her closer to Conner, "What the hell are they?"

"Bio zords," Tommy said and then he looked at the three teens, "You guys have to tame them."

The three looked at him like he was nuts.

"Are you serious?" Ethan demanded.

"How do you expect us to do that?" Conner asked.

"Those rocks gave you the power," Kim answered.

"I don't have mine," Kira said, "I gave it back."

"Here," Conner held out the rock to her.

Kira looked at it and then shook her head, "I can't, besides, I gave it up."

"It doesn't matter," Tommy said, "it's already bonded with you. It's yours now."

Kira took the rock and then looked at her teacher, "but even so, how is this rock supposed to help us?"

At that, Kim smiled and went back to the jeep, grabbing the box and opening it up to the teens, "By fusing them with these."

"Whoa!" Ethan reached out and grabbed one. "What are they?"

"They're morphers," Tommy replied, "you press the rocks against them, it'll fuse them with the core."

Ethan wasted no time in doing that.

Conner looked at Kira when he saw how hesitant she was. "We'll do it together."

Kira looked up at him, her eyes searching his, trying to figure him out. Could she do this?

"If you don't, I won't," Conner said. He had no idea what the hell he was doing or why he was trying so hard with this girl, but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Kira joined her rock to the morpher she had grabbed.

"Now what?" Ethan asked.

"Now you activate it," Tommy said, "to do so, just say Dino Thunder Power Up."

The three teens exchanged looks—something they seemed to be doing an awful lot of—before instinctually shifting into position with Conner in the front and Kira and Ethan one step behind on either side of him.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up! Ha!"

They went through the morphing sequence and within seconds, all three teens were in their ranger suits.

"Dude!" Conner's glee could be heard, "Check us out!"

"I know!" Ethan laughed, "This is awesome!"

"Uh guys," Kim laughed, "first go tame the zords, then check out the suits later."

"Alright," Conner nodded, "Let's do this!"

Tommy and Kim watched them go.

"We need to tell the others," Kim said, worry in her voice and body.

"I know," Tommy nodded, "Come on, let's go back to the house. We can call the others and let them know when we get there."

"Good idea," Kim nodded in agreement and the two hurried back to the jeep and hurried home.

~…~

By the time the sun had set, not only had Conner, Kira and Ethan managed to tame the zords and form the Megazord to battle Zeltrax—their new adversary, the same dude they had fought against in the forest—and stop him from destroying the city, but the former rangers all knew about the newest members to their ranger family and were all waiting on the three teens at the Command Centre.

"This is so exciting!" Zack remarked as he danced around the room.

"I know right?" Tanya laughed, "First we find out that Kat is having a baby, and now this!"

Hayley smiled as she typed in something on the computer. "It's a day of celebration for us, isn't it?"

"Are they on their way back?" Aisha asked.

"Yes," Billy was the one to answer. "They should be coming through the woods' entrance soon."

Five minutes later, the three teens came into the room, freezing at the sight of everyone.

"Hello," Trini smiled.

"Dr O how do we—

"Just say power down," Tommy said.

The teens did as they were told, but didn't make a move to go any further into the room.

"Don't be shy," Rocky grinned, "We don't…well…some of us."

"Rocky!" Aisha smacked him on the shoulder. "Stop scaring them."

"Sorry," Rocky said, though it was obvious to everyone that he was anything but.

Ethan's eyes went wide when he noticed who was sitting at the computer, "Hayley? Billy?"

"Hey Ethan," Hayley smiled.

"What is going on?" Kira asked. She felt uncomfortable with all these people around.

"My name is Jason Lee Scott," Jason stood up and walked over, introducing himself and then the others, "and these are Aisha Campbell, Zack Taylor, Rocky DeSantos, Adam Park, Tanya Sloan, Trini Kwan and Kat Hillard."

"What are you guys doing here?" Conner asked, shifting closer to Kira.

"Well," Adam spoke up, "We wanted to welcome you to the ranger family and to talk to you about what that means."

"Ranger family?" Kira repeated with a frown. She wasn't sure how she felt about this.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded.

"Wait, so you're all rangers?" Ethan asked, looking at the group with wide eyes.

"Former actually," Kim grinned as she took a seat next to Kat. "But yes, at one point, we were all rangers."

All three of their eyes went wide, even Kira's.

"All of you?" Conner asked.

Zack laughed and danced around the room, "All of us. Actually though, me, Jase, Kim, Billy and Trini were the ones that started it all. We were the original five."

"Of course then Tommy joined," Billy grinned, "but that is a story for another time."

Tommy walked over to stand in front of his three students, "Before we go any further, I need to know, are you sure want to do this?"

"Do what?" Ethan asked, "Be power rangers?"

"Yes," Tommy nodded, "it may seem glamorous, but I'm sure as you found out today, it's not."

"Do you think you'd be able to handle it?" Kim asked, looking at each teen.

Conner looked at the adults before shifting his gaze to the two on either side of him, "What do you guys think?"

"What do we think?" Ethan repeated, "We're getting the chance to be a part of something big, bigger than all of us. A chance to be a hero and do some good. I'm in."

Conner laughed and looked at Kira, "What about you?"

Kira bit her lip as she hugged her waist. Could she do this? Be a part of something? And why would they want _her _of all people? She was nothing.

"Kira?" Conner called, brows furrowing together.

"What if I can't?" Kira asked, looking at her teacher.

"The power wouldn't have chosen you if you couldn't handle it," Tommy told her, "you can do it Kira, but I won't force you."

She looked at the adults scattered around the room, each of them wearing encouraging smiles; she looked at Ethan, who was pretty much pleading for her to say yes; and then she looked at Conner and his look puzzled her.

It was pleading, but it was also understanding, telling her he wouldn't hold it against her. She had never received a look like that in her life and it was that that made her decision.

"Ok," Kira nodded, "I'm in."

"Alright," Tommy nodded. He looked over at Jason and have a nod, and the former original red ranger got up and walked over to a panel in the wall. After punching in the code, he opened it, grabbed a box, and walked over to where Tommy was and gave it to him.

"These are communicators," Tommy said as he opened the box, showing the teens the bracelets inside, "You'll notice that we're all wearing one. They are used to communicate with each other and to teleport. To talk, you press and hold the button on the right side. If you want to talk to everyone, or you're just asking a general question, then just press and hold and talk. If it's private, then press and hold the button and say the name of the person you want to talk to; it'll go directly to that person's communicator.

"The bigger button on the left side, that is used to teleport. You press and hold it and you'll be taken to where you want to go. Don't ask me how it knows where to take you; you'll have to talk to Billy on that as my science is more about dinosaurs and their history, but Billy deals with all sorts of science so he can probably better explain the connection between our brain waves and patterns and that of the teleportation beam."

"This is all surreal…and so freaking cool!" Ethan was giddy as he grabbed a communicator and placed it on his wrist, snapping the ends together.

Kira and Conner followed suit, with the former having a small smile on her face.

"Now," Tommy said, drawing their attention again, "there are three rules which you have to abide. Our mentor gave them to us, and now I'm telling them to you."

"What are they?" Conner asked.

"Never reveal your identity," Jason answered.

"Never start a fight," Adam continued.

"And never use your powers for personal gain," Rocky finished.

"However," Trini added on, "Zordon did make an amendment to that third rule; if the situation is extreme or unique, then you can use your powers and the teleportation system."

The former rangers exchanged looks, remembering exactly when and why Zordon had changed that rule.

"So," Kim clapped her hands, shaking away the sad thoughts, "do you guys agree to abide by the rules?"

The three teens nodded. "Yes."

"Great!" Kim cheered, as did the others, "Welcome to the family."

* * *

**A/N 2: **ok, so major shout out and thanks to **XoxMountaingGirlxoX** for giving me the idea about an abused and neglected Kira, and that she has issues that stem from her home life and that affects her interactions with the rangers. I know some of you might think it's a stretch, but hopefully, throughout the story, you'll give it a chance.

**A/N 3: **ok, so I tried to make Conner like he was on the show, I really did, but I couldn't lol. Instead, he ended up like how he is and I'm pretty sure that's how he's gonna stay. So, if anyone's expecting the crude, dumb, insensitive jock he was at the beginning of the series, then I am so sorry, but I don't think I can write him that way. I couldn't, and didn't, in _Secrets _or _Return of the Ancient Ninjetti _and _Maligore's Daughter_.

**A/N 4: **also, I wasn't too sure about the ending; I had an alternate one, but I ended up removing and using the scenes in the next chapter. If you think the end is off, please let me know anyways, since you're at this point, review!

_Kila_


	4. Deja vu Part One

**Setting: **Dino Thunder; starts with the 'Moon Mission' and continues on through DT.  
**Story Summary: **Through unexpected situations, some of the former rangers are called back to action. They did their duty and life went on, but trouble stirs as a former ranger stumbles across a new power source. With the help of friends—near and far—they will create and mentor three teens into becoming the newest members of the ranger family. This is the story of the Dino Thunder Rangers.  
**Chapter: 4: **Déjà vu Part One  
**Episode Counterpart: 3: **Wave Goodbye  
**Chapter Word Count: **11,019

**A/N: **here's the new chapter. Sorry for the delay, but enjoy! And thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and pretty much loved this story so far! You guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban. I am not making any money from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"Speaking"  
_"Speaking over the phone"_  
_'Thinking'  
_**Sign language**

**O.P.D.: **_Wed. 7th August, '13._

* * *

_Previously on ADD;_

_-Conner and Kira meet_

_-First day of school brings its adventures as the three teens get detention_

_-Conner, Kira and Ethan find the rocks_

_-A glimpse into Kira's home life_

_-Kira gives back her rock and gets kidnapped_

_-Kira returns and the three teens claim their zords and fight their first battle_

_-Introductions between the teens and the former rangers, the three are welcomed to the ranger family_

* * *

It's been a week since Kira, Conner and Ethan became rangers. The teens had thought that they'd be fighting monsters, but to their surprise, other than that first attack, the week had passed without any more attacks.

The Saturday after they became rangers, the teens were standing outside the dojo.

"What are we doing here?" Kira asked as she looked at the two boys.

"Dr O said to meet here," Ethan answered, "but he never said why."

"Something about us learning how to be better," Conner said.

"Come on in," Tommy said as he walked out the dojo. He held the door open for them.

"What's going on Dr O?" Kira asked as she walked inside.

"You guys are going to learn how to fight," Tommy told them as he followed them inside.

"But we already know how to fight," Conner frowned at his teacher.

"You know how to fight as rangers," Kim said as she walked over to them.

They hadn't noticed her coming out from the back.

"You're going to learn how to fight as you are," Kim continued as she came to a stop next to Tommy.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked.

"Well," Jason said as he joined them as well, "what if you're attacked before you're able to morph? Or what if somehow your morpher gets taken?"

"But it's not only a learning exercise," Adam said as he too joined them, "It's a bonding exercise as well."

"When we first became rangers," Kim picked up, "Jason took it upon himself to teach the rest of us Martial Arts. And then when Tommy joined the team, we continued to do it, and we did so with Rocky, Adam and Aisha too. It was a way for us to connect as teammates and friends while we learned how to defend ourselves."

"Wait you did it too?" Kira asked, looking at sceptically.

Kim grinned, "Yep."

"And she's really good at it," Jason chuckled, looking at his sister with obvious pride.

Kira shifted when she saw the look.

"Well I'm in," Ethan said as he clapped his hands together. "How soon can we get started?"

"Right now," Adam said, "Come on."

"Great!" Ethan grinned as he followed the Asian guy.

Conner stared at Kim, "I don't mean no offense, but you don't look—

"I know," Kim cut him off with a laugh, "because I wear a lot of pink and I'm so bubbly and perky I don't seem like the type that can really fight, right?"

"Yeah," Conner nodded.

"I can though," Kim grinned, "Want me to prove it to you?"

Jason laughed, "Hey sis I think I should start him out first before you go at him."

His words made Tommy and Adam laugh and Kim huffed.

Conner looked between Kim and Jason wondering if he missed something. He couldn't help but to wonder why they thought the tiny woman in front of him could hurt him. She couldn't really…could she?

"So wait, we're going to fight each other?" Kira asked, taking a slight step back. She couldn't do this. It was one thing to fight the villains, but this…no.

"Not fighting," Tommy corrected, "We're going to spar."

Adam and Ethan started, drawing both Kira and Conner's attention.

Jason pulled Conner out onto one of the mats, and started instructing him on the basics before starting off slowly.

Kira stood there and watched her two teammates. Could she do this?

"Kira, you ok?" Tommy asked when he noticed the distant look in the new yellow ranger's eyes.

Kira shook herself, "I'm fine." She looked at her teacher, "Ok, let's do this."

Kim moved to stand to the side while Tommy drew Kira to a mat. He bowed to her, gesturing for her to do the same, and then fell into a fighting stance.

"Ready?" Tommy asked.

Kira wanted to say no because she wasn't. No way in hell. But, she couldn't. "I'm ready."

Tommy gave a nod and advanced on his student.

Kira's eyes went wide and panic spread through her when she saw her teacher coming towards her. She saw his arm pull back and she saw the punch coming and she gasped and dropped to the floor.

"Kira?" Tommy stopped abruptly and stepped to the girl's side, concern evident in him.

Kim's eyes went wide as she hurried over to them.

"No!" Kira gasped out as she flinched away from Tommy's touch. She scrambled to her feet and noticed that everyone was staring at her. "I have to go."

She ran.

Tommy exchanged a look with Kim and took off after his student.

"Kira?!" Conner immediately moved away from Jason, intending to go after the girl. He had no idea what had happened, all he knew was that he had to go to her.

"Conner wait," Kim grabbed his arm as he moved past her. "No, let Tommy handle it."

"But," Conner looked back at the woman.

"I know," Kim nodded, though her eyes never left the doorway. Kira's reaction was too familiar to her, and she knew Tommy recognized it as well.

"Let Tommy handle it," Kim said as she tugged the teen to where the others were.

"What happened?" Jason demanded when they got close.

"Is Kira ok?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know," Kim shook her head, "Maybe Tommy will figure it out."

~…~

"Kira!" Tommy called as he chased his student. "Wait!"

"Dr O just leave me alone!" Kira responded without stopping, "I have to go!"

Tommy caught up to her and reached out to grab her arm.

Kira cried out and flinched away.

Immediately, Tommy let go of her, but his concern grew. "Kira? What happened?"

"Nothing," Kira said, though she never raised her eyes to look at him, "Just a bruise from the battle."

It was a lie of course, but there's no way she was telling him where it really came from; that her mother had done it yesterday.

Tommy frowned and slowly reached out and grabbed the arm. Just as slowly, he raised the sleeve and his eyes darkened at the bruise on her upper arm.

That was _not _a battle bruise.

"I'm fine Dr O," Kira repeated, "It's just a bruise from the battle, like I told you. It's nothing!"

"Kira," Tommy glanced up at her, "This is not nothing. And it's not from the battle either! The last battle was a few days ago and the bruise would've started to fade by now. I should know; I got enough of them in high school. Kira, this looks fresh."

Kira tugged her arm away and rolled down her sleeve.

"It's nothing Dr O," she insisted, "Just leave it."

Just then, a car pulled up and a man peeked out, "Kira!"

Since Kira was facing Tommy, he was able to see the fear that flashed across her face before it disappeared.

"Yeah dad?" Kira called as she turned to face her father.

"Your mother wants me to tell you that she's not going to be home," Kira's father, Patrick, said.

"Why?" Kira asked.

"She's going to see your Aunt Deborah," Patrick told her, "And I'll be gone as well."

"When will you guys be back?" Kira asked, feeling her heart start to pound.

"Not sure yet," Patrick shrugged. "Could be a while; two, maybe three weeks, maybe longer."

He said it as if it was no big deal to go off and leave your child. And to him it wasn't. It wasn't to Kira either. She was used to her parents taking off and leaving her home alone. Some days that was better than anything else.

"Ok," Kira nodded.

"Now we don't want to partying or none of your friends over while we're gone, you hear?" Patrick scolded and his eyes promised retribution if she were to go against his words.

"I won't dad," Kira shook her head.

"Good," Patrick nodded and without saying anything else to his daughter, he took off with a squeal of his tires.

Sighing, Kira turned back to her teacher. "I know what you're thinking, but I'll be fine. It's not the first time my parents had to go out of town. I'm a big girl Dr O. I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt that," Tommy said. "Come on, let's go back in. if you're not up to sparring, then you don't have to do it today. But you will do it because I want you to be able to defend yourself regardless the situation."

His words sent warmth and confusion through her. She couldn't understand why he cared so much about her, when her own parents didn't. Nevertheless, she couldn't stop the warm feeling at the thought that someone actually did though.

They went back inside and when they got there, Kim immediately made her way over to them while Conner and Ethan stopped sparring.

"Everything ok?" Kim asked, looking from the teen to her fiancé and back.

"Yeah," Kira nodded, "Sorry I freaked out earlier."

"No problem," Kim smiled at the girl.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Conner asked.

Kira stared at him. Just like with Tommy, she was taken aback by the concern she could read in his eyes. So without thought, she reached out and grabbed his hand, "Conner, I promise you I'm fine."

Conner gave her a smile and a nod, "Alright, if you say so."

"I do," Kira grinned. She squeezed his hand before dropping it. "So, let's get back to this sparring thing, ok?"

Ethan chuckled and Conner smiled and the three went over to the mats.

Jason and Adam threw looks towards their friends, noting how troubled Tommy looked. Kim noticed it too and touched his arm.

When she got his attention, she raised an eyebrow. _**What really happened out there? **_

Tommy shook his head, not wanting to discuss it in front of either Kira or the other two in the chance that he was wrong.

Kim gave a nod to show she understood and let it go, turning back to the others.

"Kira, I'll work with you," Kim said as she walked over to the blonde.

"Ok," Kira nodded. She took a deep breath as she fell into her stance. _'You can do this Kira. Just remember, don't freak out. Don't give them reason to suspect anything.' _

Kim watched the girl and couldn't help that dejá vu she felt once again. She had felt it before when Kira ran out. What Kira did just now, the way she took that deep breath, it was as if she was trying to centre herself, not to focus, but to stop herself from having a freak out.

'_Like I did the first time I sparred with Tommy after Florida.'_

The realization had Kim's eyes widening slightly and she shifted her gaze to Tommy and noticed that he was looking at Kira as well. Vowing to talk to her fiancé, Kim shook her head and focused on the girl in front of her.

"Ok Kira, we're going to start off slow," Kim said.

Over the course of the next two hours, the three teens got a crash course in fighting, but as much as it seemed difficult, they appreciated it.

"Alright guys," Jason looked at the three, "that's it for the day."

"Thank God," Conner muttered as he lifted his shirt to wipe his forehead.

"I am so sore," Ethan groaned out.

Kira looked at her teammates and shook her head. It was tough, but she had actually enjoyed herself…once she got over her initial panic that is.

"You'll get used to it," Adam grinned, "We did. And trust me, doing this exercise will help a lot in your ranger duties."

"So we're doing this again tomorrow?" Conner asked.

"If you want to," Tommy said, "just come by after school is over."

"Ok," Conner nodded, "later guys."

"Bye," Ethan said as he turned and left.

"Bye," Jason gave a nod as he and Adam went around cleaning up.

"See ya Dr O," Kira gave a tiny smile and followed the boys out.

"Night guys," Tommy said, "go home and get some rest."

The three waved and left.

Out in the parking lot, after talking a bit, Ethan took off towards his car, leaving Conner and Kira.

"See ya," Kira muttered and she took off walking.

Conner frowned and took off after her. "What are you doing?"

"Going home," Kira responded without stopping, "What does it look like?"

"You're walking?" Conner asked. "Why?"

"Because unlike you, I don't own a car Conner," Kira sighed, "and I can't call my parents because they're out of town."

"I'll give you a lift," Conner said, "you can't walk all the way home."

'_I've done it before.' _"It's fine," Kira told him.

Conner reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!" Kira jerked her arm back and stumbled away.

"I'm sorry!" Conner replied instantly, feeling horrible and confused, by her reaction.

"Not your fault," Kira didn't look at him, "just don't touch me." _'Damnit! I thought I was over this? I thought the sparring helped? And why do I feel so bad that he looks so hurt?'_

"Ok," Conner nodded, though he was really curious as to why she had had such a violent reaction to him grabbing her arm when they had been sparring not even twenty minutes ago. "Look Kira, just please get in the car. I wouldn't feel right knowing you walked home when it's dark out and I could've given you a ride."

Kira looked up at him, "You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

Conner smiled and Kira felt flutters in her stomach, "No. So what do you say?"

Would it be so bad? What was she afraid would happen?

"Ok," Kira nodded.

Conner's grin widened, but he held back from jumping up and down in victory. Instead, he turned around and led the way to his car.

~…~

Back inside Jason and Adam had finished packing up and were talking with Tommy and Kim.

"So what was up with Kira's reaction?" Jason asked, remembering how the blonde had freaked when Tommy was about to spar with her.

Tommy looked at his friends and shook his head, "Not here. Meet at our place?"

Adam and Jason exchanged looks.

"Are we calling the others?" Kim asked.

Tommy thought about it for a bit and then gave a slow nod. "Yeah. Everyone's already invested in them because of the ranger world, so they need to know this. I think we'll need them."

"Ok," Adam nodded. "We'll meet you guys there."

"Alright," Tommy sighed, "see you guys later."

"Later," Jason nodded and watched as his two best friends left the dojo before turning to Adam. He frowned when he saw the look on his friend's face. "What is it?"

"Kira's reaction," Adam looked over at Jason, "It seemed very familiar to me."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"It reminded me of Kim when she first came back from Florida," Adam told him. He saw Jason's eyes widened with recognition and nodded, "Yeah."

"Crap!" Jason ran a hand through his hair, "Do you think it's the same situation?"

Adam paused and recalled how Kira had acted and then shook his head, "No, but let's wait until we're with the others."

"Ok," Jason nodded. "Let's go."

~…~

Later that night, Kim and Tommy were waiting for their friends to arrive.

"What if we're wrong Tommy?" Kim asked as she lay curled into his side on the couch.

"What if we're not?" Tommy countered, "Do you believe we're wrong?"

Kim bit her lip as she thought back on Kira' actions and the vibe she had felt coming from the teen, "No."

A knock on the door drew their attention.

"It's open!" Tommy shouted out.

"Since when do you knock?" Kim asked when she saw Rocky walking in, followed by the others.

"Since Aisha made me," Rocky grinned as he bounded over to drop to the floor in front of Kim.

Aisha laughed as she sat next to Kim on the couch. She reached down and ran a hand through Rocky's hair. "The boy is learning."

"With you in charge?" Adam grinned at his childhood friend as he dropped into the one-seat couch, pulling Tanya into his lap.

"Of course he is," Adam continued.

"So we're all here," Hayley said when Jason, the last person in, closed the door behind him. "What's going on guys?"

Adam, Jason, Kim and Tommy exchanged looks.

"It's about Kira," Tommy started.

"What about her?" Trini asked, looking at her friends.

"Something about the way she acted today," Kim said, "bothered me. To be honest, now that I think about it, she's been off ever since we met."

"What do you mean Kim?" Zack asked.

"Kira's actions reminded us of the way Kim acted when she first came back from Florida," Jason revealed to the room.

Immediately, all eyes—with the exception of Hayley—widened.

"Wait," Tanya frowned and sat up, shifting slightly so she could see Adam's face, "you guys think that she was—

"No," Tommy cut her off, "I don't think it's anything like that. It's something else."

Hayley raised a hand, "What do you mean she's acting like Kim did when she came back from Florida? How did Kim act and what happened to Kim in Florida?"

The gang exchanged looks. It just hit them that Hayley had no idea of the hell they had gone through—Kim especially—back in high school.

"Red, keep in mind that it's not that we didn't want to tell you or that we didn't trust you," Kim started, drawing Hayley's attention.

"It's because it wasn't something we normally talked about and we've dealt with and move on from it," Tommy finished.

Hayley nodded and looked at Kim, "What happened?"

"Well you know I went to Florida in my junior year," Kim said, "I was a contender for the Olympics, but I never went. The reason why was because I left Florida a few months later in May."

"Why did you leave?" Hayley asked. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer if it was anything like what she was already coming up with.

"I was attacked by a fellow gymnast," Kim explained, "He raped and beat me and then just left me there. I didn't tell anyone about it and I broke up with Tommy because of it."

Hayley's hand flew to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "Oh my God."

Kim smiled and quickly moved from Tommy's side to Hayley's, "Red, it's ok. I'm fine now. I mean, I wasn't back then, but I am now. I dealt with it and I moved on."

"When Kim came back from Florida," Rocky picked up, "She was jumpy and completely terrified. You couldn't touch her without freaking her out. Basically, we had to ask for a hug. _She _had to be the one to initiate the contact."

"She flinched at sudden movements towards her," Adam continued, "We couldn't go near her without letting her see us and letting her know what we were going to do."

"And on top of that," Kat picked up, "She was quiet. She didn't talk at all."

"What?" Hayley shifted to look at Kim.

"Yeah," Kim nodded, "I didn't start talking again until, what, senior year? Or the summer before senior year? Rocky was actually the one who thought of sign language for us to communicate."

"Wow," Hayley looked around the room, "So all of you know sign language?"

"Yes," Tanya nodded.

"But tonight isn't about me," Kim said, "It's about Kira."

"Wait, do you guys think she was raped as well?" Hayley asked, unable to believe that the teen had gone through something so horrible. Or Kim for that matter.

"No," Tommy shook his head, "I don't think it's that. When I grabbed Kira's arm today, she flinched away from me. So, I pulled up her sleeve and I saw a bruise. She said it was from the battle but that was a few days ago and the bruise would've already started to fade. The one on her arm had looked fresh."

"And Kira isn't really acting the way someone was raped would act," Jason added on, "I mean, everyone reacts differently, but there are some common reactions; such as an aversion to touch and to be around guys. Kira has no problem being around Conner or Ethan or even us."

"And she has no problem being in a group," Adam continued, "so no, we don't think she was raped."

"You think she's being abused," Billy surmised.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "if you think about it, add in the way she's been acting, and you'll see it makes sense."

"Not to play devil's advocate," Tanya said, "but she could just be like other teenagers; moody and whatnot."

"I know," Kim nodded, "but we don't think it's that. I saw the look on her face the day we asked her to be a ranger. She had been hesitant, but it wasn't that she hadn't wanted to, but because she hadn't believe that we actually wanted _her _to be a part of this; like she was worthless or something."

"Say all of this is true," Billy said, "We can't do anything about it unless Kira speaks up. And from what I know on abused teens, getting them to admit they are being abused, especially by a parent, is very difficult."

Everyone went silent at his words.

"He's right," Aisha sighed, "If Kira is being abused, then we can't do anything without her say so."

"So what can we do?" Zack asked, looking around at his friends.

"We keep an eye on her," Tommy said, "and if things get worse,"

"Then we step in," Jason finished.

~…~

The next day, after school, instead of going to the dojo, Ethan invited Conner and Kira to meet at the café. He was determined for them to be friends as well as teammates and figured that the best way to make that happen was to show them where he was most comfortable.

Outside of the café, Kira and Conner arrived at the same time.

"Hey," Conner smiled when he saw the blonde.

Kira's cheeks flushed and she couldn't help but to smile back, "Hey. So, what's up with Ethan asking us to meet here?"

"I don't know," Conner shrugged as he turned towards the entrance, "but I guess we'll never find out unless we go in."

"Smartass," Kira quipped with any real heat. What was going on with her? Why was she acting like this around him? Why was she so comfortable and why did he make her feel safe?

Conner laughed and held the door open, "after you."

Kira grinned and the two walked inside, only to freeze. "Whoa."

"I know," Conner nodded as he looked around. He took in the TVs and computers, "Do you think he lives here?"

"I think he wishes," Kira responded.

"Hey guys," Ethan grinned as he walked up to them, "Welcome to _RC's Cyber Place._"

"This place is cool," Conner said.

"I know," Ethan laughed as he led them to the counter.

The two teens' eyes widened in shock when they saw who was at the counter. "Kim?!"

"Hey guys," Kim grinned at them, "It's about time you made it here."

"You own this place?" Kira asked.

"We both do," Hayley said as she walked up to them, placing an empty tray on the counter. "Three grape smoothies Kim."

"Coming right up," Kim smiled as she went to do that.

"I can't believe you guys own this place," Conner smiled, "Cool."

"So Kira," Hayley laughed and turned to the blonde, "If you're interested, do you think you'd be willing to play here some nights?"

Kira's eyes went wide with shock. "Are you serious?"

Hayley nodded, "Very."

Kira looked around the room, before looking back at Hayley, "Are you sure you want _me _to play here? I mean—

"Hey what's with that?" Conner interrupted with a frown as he gently touched her arm. He'd learn over the last few days that Kira didn't like to be touched all that much, but if you went slowly and she saw it coming, it was okay. He had no idea why that was and it was really bugging him, but he wasn't about to pester her…not yet anyways.

"I've heard you sing and you're really good," Conner continued, "Just give it a try."

Somehow, Conner's words were able to drown out the litany of 'worthless' in Kira's mind, so she smiled and nodded, "Ok."

"Great!" Hayley grinned, "Since it's short notice, you can come by early tomorrow to set up to perform later in the night. Sounds good?"

"Perfect," Kira nodded with a smile.

The redhead then turned to Conner, "So, I know you're into soccer, but I don't know if you know this or not. They're having open try-outs at the park this afternoon and another tomorrow; if you leave now you can still make the one today."

Conner's eyes went wide, "Are you serious? Crap, I better go!" he turned to Kira, "I'll see you later. And don't worry so much; you'll be fine."

He briefly touched her shoulder and then, he was gone.

"Come on," Hayley said after Conner had left, "Let me show you where you'll be setting up."

Kira glanced in the direction Conner had left before turning to Hayley and nodding, "Ok."

At the bar, Kim had watched the entire interaction narrowed eyes. She had noticed the way Conner had been able to touch Kira and the girl hadn't flinched once. And if she remembered right, the last few days, Kira had reacted to Conner different to how she reacted to everyone else.

Point in case; when they had been given the chance to become rangers. Then, Kim had seen the hesitancy, but it was Conner's words that had changed her mind.

It reminded her of her and Tommy; after her attack, Tommy was the only that had been able to touch her without her flinching. He had been the only that had been able to get through her self-loathing; because she had trusted him completely and knew he would never hurt her.

Kim suddenly smiled; whether Kira realized it or not, she trusted Conner. She trusted him enough to listen to him and to know he wouldn't hurt her.

Just like Tommy had been the one to help her, whatever Kira was going through, Conner would be the one to help her.

~…~

The next day, as Kira was at the café getting ready for her performance that night, Conner went to that day's soccer practice while Ethan went to help Tommy in the forest.

"What are we doing Dr O?" Ethan asked.

"We're looking for some dinozord eggs," Tommy told him, "when they hatch, you guys will be able to ride them."

Ethan's eyes went wide, "Are you freaking serious? That's so sweet!"

Tommy chuckled, but it was cut short when Elsa and Zeltrax showed up with Tyrannodrones.

"Those dinozord eggs belong to our master!" Elsa shouted.

"I don't think so!" Ethan replied, "You are not getting them!"

"Tyrannodrones attack!" Zeltrax ordered.

Ethan and Tommy fought back, defending themselves against the drones.

~…~

At the Command Centre, Billy is at the computers running through the network when the alarms go off.

Pulling up the coordinates, he saw Tommy and Ethan fighting.

"Damnit!" Billy hissed as he punched in the code to Kira and Conner's communicators. "Guys."

"_This is Kira/Go for Conner."_

"Tommy and Ethan need your help," Billy said, "They're being attacked by Elsa and Zeltrax in the forest."

"_Got it."_

~…~

At the café, Kira was checking over the equipment when her communicator went off.

"This is Kira," she answered as she brought her wrist to her mouth.

"_Tommy and Ethan need your help," Billy said, "They're being attacked by Elsa and Zeltrax in the forest."_

"Got it," Kira nodded. Standing up, she sighed and then ran off stage.

"Kira?" Kim called when she saw the girl run by.

"Dr O and Ethan need my help," Kira shouted back but didn't stop. She got outside and found a secluded place. Making sure no one was around, she morphed and teleported to where Ethan and Tommy were.

~…~

Conner was at the park for the second day of the try-outs. He had gotten to the park late yesterday and had missed them then, but the coach had told him to come back today. He was excited; if he impressed the coach enough, then he would make the team. He wasn't worried though, he knew how good he was.

"McKnight, you're up!" the coach shouted.

Conner grinned, but just as he was about to head to the field, his communicator went off.

This was not happening! Conner groaned and raised his wrist to his mouth, "Go for Conner."

"_Tommy and Ethan need your help," Billy said, "They're being attacked by Elsa and Zeltrax in the forest."_

"Got it," Conner replied and dropped his wrist.

"McKnight!" the coach shouted again.

Conner shook his head, "You've got to be kidding me."

"McKnight, any day now!" the coach looked at Conner with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sorry," Conner apologized as he started backing away, "I have to go. I'm sorry."

He turned and ran towards his car. He got inside and started the ignition but didn't drive away. He remained where he was for a few minutes.

"Fuck!" he slammed his fist against the steering wheel. _'Damnit! Why now? Why is this happening now? Couldn't the dumbasses just wait a fucking minute before they attacked?!'_

Letting out a harsh sigh, Conner finally drove away from the park. He couldn't help but to feel like he was driving away from his dream.

~…~

Kira and Conner showed up in the forest one after the other.

They helped Ethan fight off Mesogog's henchmen and managed to save the dinozord eggs.

The rangers defeat the Tyrannodrones and Elsa and Zeltrax retreat back to Mesogog's lair.

"You ok Dr O?" Ethan asked as he powered down.

"I'm fine," Tommy nodded. He then turned to Kira and Conner, "thanks for the help guys."

"It's ok," Kira waved his words away, a little uncomfortable with the praise. She wasn't used to an adult telling her she was good at something or being thankful for her being there.

"Maybe I can still make the try-outs," Conner said, "I'll see you guys later."

He teleported back to his car before anyone could say anything.

Tommy turned to Ethan, "Help me get the eggs back to the Command Centre. Kira, you can go back to the café to finish if you're not."

"Are you sure you guys don't need help?" Kira asked.

"We're good," Ethan nodded at her, "Go…we'll be by later to watch you perform."

"Ok," Kira gave a final nod before teleporting herself.

"Come on, let's go," Tommy told Ethan.

~…~

Conner hurried back to the park for the try-outs, but when he got there, he saw the park was empty save for the coach who was packing his stuff. He ran over to the man.

"I'm here!" Conner gasped out.

The coach looked over at the teen, "Sorry kid, try-outs are over."

Conner froze, "What? Look, I'm right here; just let me try-out."

"If you wanted a shot at making the team, then you should've been here," the coach said.

"I had an emergency!" Conner protested, "I _had _to go! I wanted to stay, I did!"

"Look kid," the coach stopped his packing and turned to face the teen, "I've had hopefuls, even actual players, miss practice because of "emergencies" and they usually turn out to be pretty stupid ones."

"But mine wasn't stupid!" Conner insisted, "If the possibility of not going was an option, I would've taken it, but I couldn't!"

"And what was your emergency?" the coach asked.

Conner deflated. "I can't tell you."

The coach scoffed, "That's what I thought."

"Look just please give me a second chance," Conner pleaded.

"Sorry kid," the coach resumed packing up his stuff. "Try-outs are over. And who's to say this emergency of yours won't happen again? If soccer isn't important to you—

"It is," Conner glared at the man. How dare he say that? For as long as he could remember, all he's ever wanted to do was play soccer.

"Soccer is all I've ever wanted to do," Conner told the man.

"Well can you give 100% of your time to this?" the coach asked.

Conner didn't answer. He couldn't. How could he devote his full time to soccer, when he was a ranger? He didn't know when there would be a battle?

"Huh," the coach nodded, "Well whatever else it is that is going to make you split your time, you need to make a decision. You need to decide which is more important to you."

Conner could only stand there and watch as the coach finished packing up and drove away.

What was more important? He was a power ranger, which was important, but soccer had been a huge part of his life for so long.

Conner looked out at the soccer field. He felt torn; he loved being a ranger, but he loved playing soccer as well. Both were important to him.

Could he really give one up? And how in the world was he going to make that choice?

~…~

Later that night at the café, Kira was on stage going over last minute preparations for her performance. She was nervous but excited at the same time.

Adjusting her guitar, she turned and looked out over the crowd. She saw the former rangers sitting around, and when she saw her teacher, subconsciously she calmed down a little.

Her eyes scanned the crowd again, and she had no idea why, but she felt disappointed and hurt when she didn't see Conner anywhere.

'_He probably had better things to do than to hear me sing. Probably has a date or something with one of those cheerleaders.'_ The thought hurt, and she could feel her mood plummet.

Although, why she was so bothered by Conner not being there and possibly being with another girl, she had no idea, all she knew was that she needed him there. He made her feel safe and somehow, he gave her strength.

Strumming her guitar, Kira prepared to play her song. She looked up, saw Conner walking in and subconsciously, she calmed down completely. She couldn't help but to smile her first genuine smile all night when she saw him.

Suddenly, she wasn't scared about performing. She could do this.

And she did.

When her performance was over, she was completely blown away by the applause from the crowd.

Smiling, she quickly got off stage and made her way through the crowd to where the rangers were.

"So?" Kira grinned, "What did you guys think?"

"You sucked," Conner said, looking so serious.

Kira's face fell and everyone glared at Conner.

"I'm kidding!" Conner grinned as he reached out and pulled the yellow ranger into a hug.

"Conner!" Kira groaned and made to pull away, but didn't go far.

"You were great," Conner smiled down at the blonde. For a moment, his own problem took a backseat. This was Kira's time, "But then again, I already told you you'd be fine."

Kira looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks."

The two stared at each other, unaware of the looks from the former rangers.

"He's right," Hayley said, pulling the two's attention from each other and to the group. "You were amazing."

"Want to make it a regular thing?" Kim asked, a knowing glint in her eyes. Seems she was right; Conner really would be the one to help Kira.

Kira looked between the two older women, "Are you serious?"

"Very," Hayley nodded with a smile, "You're amazing Kira, and we'd be honoured to have you sing here every night."

"If it's ok with you, of course," Kim added.

"I don't know what to say," Kira said.

"Say yes," Trini laughed, "these two won't stop, Kimberly especially, until you say yes."

"Hey!" Kim mock glared at her best friend.

"Love you sis!" Trini grinned as she reached out and rubbed Kim's shoulder.

"Meh," Kim dodged the touch and moved closer to Aisha, cuddling into her former teammate. "I have 'Sha."

"Oh I see how it is," Trini huffed, though her eyes were dancing with laughter.

The group laughed, but Kira couldn't help but to stare. She couldn't believe how the rangers were acting.

Since they had met, almost a week ago, she'd been in awe of how the rangers interacted with each other, especially around Kimberly. She couldn't understand just how the group could be so close and so loving and protective, considering none of them were blood related.

It was something that stumped her due to the fact that her own parents didn't act that way towards her.

"So are you gonna do it?" Conner asked, with a squeeze to Kira's shoulders.

Kira looked up at him and then at the others, all of whom had encouraging smiles on their faces.

"So you all think I should do it?" Kira asked, needing to be sure, "You think I'm good enough?"

'_And how can you? Seeing that my own parents don't think so?'_

"Definitely," Kat nodded, "Trust me, neither Kim nor Hayley would've asked if you weren't."

"She's right," Hayley smiled, "So what do you say?"

"Ok," Kira nodded.

"Great!" Kim clapped, prompting everyone to laugh.

"This is so awesome!" Ethan grinned. He was excited because not only was he a power ranger—he still couldn't believe that—but he had met this amazing group of people and he had two new friends.

Life was good.

~…~

Life was not good.

At, least, not for Conner.

Ever since Kira's performance at the café two days ago, couldn't stop thinking about his dilemma. He spent all day yesterday doing nothing but thinking and he still hadn't figured out what he was going to do.

Because of that, he'd been a little distant to not only Kira, but to Ethan as well, since he got to school earlier.

He knew Kira, and Ethan and even Dr O, were worried, but he didn't want to say anything until he had sorted things out himself.

He didn't count on the fact that his teacher was stubborn and would confront him at the end of the day as he was leaving school.

"Conner?" Tommy called from the classroom when he saw the teen pass.

Conner groaned but stopped and turned back, "Yeah Dr O?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Tommy asked as he gestured for the teen to come in.

Conner sighed and walked into the classroom.

Tommy closed the door and turned to face his red ranger, "Conner, is everything ok? You know can come to me or one of the others right?"

Conner bit his lip and looked away. Letting out a huge sigh, he dropped into one of the front row seats.

"Conner what's going on?" Tommy asked as he leaned against his desk in front of Conner. "Talk to me."

"The soccer try-outs that Hayley told me about," Conner started, "I missed them! I missed them because of a battle and the coach won't give me another chance. All my life I've wanted to play soccer and I finally get an opportunity to go further, something I've been dreaming about, and I can't even take it because of my ranger duties. And now, I have to make a choice; soccer or ranger.

"Being a ranger is fun, I mean, who doesn't want to be a superhero? But, playing soccer, that's always been my dream. And I would like to do both but I can't. I can't do soccer because I don't know when there's going to be a monster attack and if I have to leave every time there is one, how is that going to look to my coaches? There's not gonna be much of a career for me, is there?"

Tommy looked at his student in sympathy. While he didn't know what Conner was going through as he had never had to choose between a lifelong dream and his ranger duties, he could understand.

"So what are you saying?" Tommy asked, though he was pretty sure he knew.

Conner looked at his teacher and nodded, "Yeah. Dr O, I really want to do this ranger thing, but—

"You've had dreams before you became a ranger," Tommy finished.

"Yeah," Conner sighed.

"Look," Tommy said, "I'm not telling you not to quit. All I'm saying is, before you quit, before you make this decision, think about it. Really think about it, and talk to Kim."

"Kimberly?" Conner's brows furrowed.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "trust me; she'll understand exactly what you're going through and she'll be able to help."

"I'll think about it," Conner said.

"Good," Tommy said, "that's all I ask."

Conner stood up and grabbed his bag, "see ya later Dr O."

Tommy watched his student go with a sigh. He needed to tell the others.

~…~

Later that afternoon, Tommy made his way to the café.

"Hey Handsome," Kim greeted with a smile when she saw her fiancé.

"Hi," Tommy smiled in return. No matter what bad mood he was in, seeing Kim always managed to put a smile on his face.

Kim took one look at Tommy and frowned, "What's wrong?"

Tommy chuckled. _'Damn that girl can read me.'_ "Later; I'll tell you later."

"Ok," Kim nodded. "Well, we should be closing up soon."

"Alright," Tommy nodded and took a seat on one of the stools.

"Hey Dr O," Ethan called as he and Kira walked over.

"Have you seen Conner?" Kira asked, looking around with a frown. "He's been avoiding us all day and we've been trying to find him, but we can't."

"He probably went home," Tommy told them, "He has a lot to think about."

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked with a frown.

"Not now," Tommy shook his head, "Let's wait until everyone's gone and then I'll tell you."

Both teens nodded and said nothing, but you could see the curiosity plain in their eyes.

An hour and a half later, the last customer was ushered out and Hayley was flipping the 'CLOSED' sign.

"So what's going on Tommy?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah man what's the big deal?" Zack added on.

"It's about Conner," Tommy said.

"What about him?" Kira asked, her heart pounding, "Is he ok?"

"He's fine," Tommy assured the girl, "He's not hurt or anything."

"Then what is it?" Tanya asked, looking at her friend.

"Conner's thinking about quitting his ranger duties," Tommy told the room.

"What?!"

"He can't quit!" Kira protested. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could he quit? She had thought that Conner loved being a ranger.

"Well he is," Tommy sighed and then turned to Kim, "Can you talk to him? You're the only here that'll understand completely what he's going through."

"Sure," Kim nodded, though she wasn't sure why Tommy thought her would be the best choice to talk to him.

"Why does he want to quit?" Kat asked.

"Because his ranger duties is interfering with soccer," Tommy said, "apparently there were open soccer try-outs and Conner went, but he had to leave due to a battle. So, he never got to try and the coach refused to give him a second chance. He wants to be a ranger but he doesn't think he wants it at the expense of giving up childhood dreams."

Kim closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Now she understood why Tommy wanted her to talk to him and why he said she would understand completely.

"How can he even say that?" Ethan asked, looking confused. "I mean, being a ranger is everything! It's so much bigger than anything!"

"I know Ethan," Jason nodded, "it is a big deal, but not everyone feels that way."

"And to be honest," Rocky added on, "We kinda understand where he's coming from. Yes being a ranger was the biggest thing in our lives and yes we were happy to do it and we had fun and it brought us all together, but we had to give up a lot to be rangers."

"Going on dates was pretty much a no go," Zack said, "We were teens; we were supposed to be enjoying our time not saving the world."

"Not that we would change it for anything," Trini smiled, "because like Rocky said, it brought us all together and for me, Jason, Kim, Zack and Billy, it made us even closer than before, but there were a lot of regular things we wanted to do, but couldn't really. Our time was pretty much limited to each other."

"And sure we had outside friends," Billy said, "but it was considerably difficult to keep those friendships going when we had to keep such a huge part about ourselves a secret."

Kira looked away and Ethan looked down.

"We're not saying this to bring you guys down or anything," Adam said, "we're just giving you another point of view onto what Conner may be thinking."

Kira shook her head and took a step back, "So we're just supposed to let him do this?"

"Don't be mad at Conner," Aisha said, "I know you feel like he's abandoning you or betraying you somehow, but this is something he feels he has to do and as his friends, it's your job to support him…no matter what."

Kira wrapped her arms around her waist. Didn't they get it? It was because of him why she had decided to be a ranger in the first place. How could he abandon them like this? How could he abandon _her_?

Kira felt a touch to her and she looked over to see Kim watching her with sympathetic eyes.

"It's ok," Kim said, "I'll talk to him."

Kira and Ethan looked at her in confusion, both wondering how her talking to him was going to help.

"Because I'm the only one here that knows exactly what he's going through," Kim told them, correctly understanding their look.

"She's right," Aisha said. She knew that while she herself had given up being a ranger to stay in Africa, even though she hadn't remembered her time as a ranger until the group had found out exactly what had happened to Kim in Florida, it wasn't the same as what Kim had done nor what Conner was going through right now.

"So what do we do now?" Kira asked.

"You go home and you get some rest," Tommy told her.

Ethan looked ready to protest, but stopped at the look on his teacher's face. "Alright. Come on Kira, I'll give you a ride."

"Ok," Kira nodded.

"See you guys tomorrow," Tommy told them and watched with sad eyes as the two left the building.

"Man," Zack shook his head, "this is gonna suck if he goes."

"I know," Tommy nodded.

Hayley looked over at her friend, "Will you be able to change his mind?"

Kim shrugged, "I'm not sure. All I can do is talk to him."

Kat let out a huge yawn just then, "Sorry guys."

Billy smiled and placed a hand on her stomach, "I think it's time I take you two home."

"I think it's time we all go home," Zack snorted, "Hey Jase, mind if I crash with you guys?"

"No problem bro," Jason grinned.

"You know," Adam smirked, "if you just find a place in town to live, then things would be so much easier."

"I second that!" Kim raised a hand, prompting everyone to laugh.

"I'm working on it," Zack chuckled.

"Let's go guys," Tommy said as he wrapped an arm around Kim's shoulders, pulling her into his body.

The group left, with Hayley locking the door behind her, and they all made their way to their own homes.

~…~

Kim didn't get a chance to talk to Conner at all in the next few days. All week the rangers had been busy with school and monster battles and Conner had disappeared after school, and every battle.

By Wednesday, Ethan and Kira were slowly losing faith that their teammate would stay.

The two were at the café, after another battle, and like before, Conner had rushed off as soon as it was over.

"I'm worried about Conner," Kira confessed to Ethan, "Do you really think he'll leave?"

Ethan blew off and looked over at the yellow ranger. "I hope not. We need him."

Kira nodded, "I know." _'I need him too.'_

"I still don't get it, you know?" Ethan said, "I mean, how can anyone give this up?

Kira remained silent. She could understand his frustration. She couldn't give this up for anything. Her home life was complete hell and this, this was her escape. If it wasn't for rangers, she and Conner—

Whoa! There was no she and Conner.

'_Then why do I wish there was?'_

"I'm gonna get something to eat," Ethan said as he stood up, drawing Kira from her thoughts. "You want anything?"

"I'm good," Kira shook her head.

Ethan nodded and headed towards the counter, "Hey Kim."

"Hey Ethan," Kim smiled at the teen, "What's up?"

"Can I get some fries and a juice?" Ethan asked.

"Sure," Kim nodded, "be right back."

Ethan gave her a smile and leaned against the counter.

"Excuse me? I'm looking for Hayley Ziktor or Kimberly Hart. Do you know where I can find either of them?"

Ethan turned and saw a teen, male around his age, standing there.

"Why are you looking for them?" Ethan asked.

"I'm here to apply for a job," the guy answered, "My name is Trent Fernandez."

"Oh," Ethan said, "Well, Kim just went to the back and Hayley is around here somewhere."

"Oh," Trent sighed and leaned against the counter.

"If you want to wait," Ethan said, "Kim will be back soon."

"Ok, thanks man," Trent grinned.

"No problem," Ethan nodded. "I'm Ethan by the way, Ethan James."

"Nice to meet you Ethan," Trent said. He shifted on his seat and turned around facing the room. A girl, blonde curly hair, caught his attention, "Whoa, who's that? She's gorgeous."

Ethan looked at Trent then looked to where, or who, he was watching. It was Kira.

Now, Ethan may not be really close to Conner or Kira, but they were teammates now—Conner's up-in-the-air decision notwithstanding—and he'd like to think they were even friends and as such, his loyalty was to them. But even without that, he wasn't blind; he'd seen the way Conner and Kira were around each other. They reminded him of Dr O and Kim. They weren't dating yet, but they will be.

So it wouldn't hurt if he protected that or gave them a little push…right?

"That's Kira," Ethan said.

"Do you know her?" Trent asked, "I mean, does she have a boyfriend?"

Before Ethan could answer, Trent continued, "Oh my God, this is weird, right? I just met you and I'm pimping you for information about someone."

Ethan laughed, "It's cool, but yeah, she's with someone."

"Oh," Trent nodded, the disappointment clear to read on his face, "that's cool."

"Here you go Ethan," Kim said as she placed the tray on the counter. She then turned to Trent. "Can I help you with something?"

Trent turned around, "Uh, yeah, I'm Trent Fernandez. I'm here for—

"Oh the interview!" Kim interrupted with a smile.

"And just in time too!" Hayley added on as she joined them. "You have the job; just grab a pen and notepad and start taking orders. We can vet you later."

Trent looked at the redhead wide eyed.

"Go!" Kim said as she threw an apron at him and passed him a notepad and pen.

Ethan chuckled as he watched the boy stumble through the crowds.

"Have you seen Conner?" Hayley asked Ethan.

"No," Ethan shook his head.

"Well don't worry," Kim said, "If I don't see him tomorrow, I'm going over to the school after it lets out Friday and ambush him."

Ethan and Hayley chuckled, neither one putting it past the petite woman.

~…~

True to her word, when the school was over Friday, Kim was leaning against Conner's car waiting for him.

The moment he saw her, he froze and then shook his head and made his way over to her.

"We're going to my place to talk," Kim said as he unlocked the car.

"Kim," Conner started.

"That wasn't a suggestion Conner," Kim told him as she got into the passenger seat.

Seeing no other choice, Conner could only sigh and get in the car himself. As he started the car, he looked at her, "You know I could just drive to my house, right?"

"You won't," Kim grinned, "because if you do, it'll piss me off, and pissing me off is not something you want. Ask Tommy and the others if you don't believe me."

While he had a hard believing that, something told Conner he didn't want to find out, so instead, he pulled out the parking lot and drove to the Oliver residence.

The ride was quiet, with only the radio making noise. Every so often Conner would throw glances at Kim, but he said nothing.

When they pulled into the yard, they got out and Kim turned towards the backyard.

"Come on," Kim called back to him.

Conner had no choice but to follow.

They walked for a while until they came to a clearing.

Kim walked over to a big rock overlooking the lake and gestured for Conner to sit next to her.

"Ok," Kim smiled at him, "let's talk."

"What's there to talk about?" Conner asked, looking out at the lake.

"That big decision that you're wrestling with," Kim said, "whether or not you should quit being a ranger to pursue your dreams."

"You wouldn't understand," Conner shook his head, "Nobody does. I know Dr O and the others are probably disappointed and I know Kira and Ethan are probably angry too."

"I know," Kim told him.

"Yeah, how?" Conner looked at her in confusion.

Kim sighed and shifted on the rock, "because back in high school, when we were still rangers, I had to make that choice as well."

Conner was surprised, "Are you serious?"

"Very," Kim smiled, "See, I used to do gymnastics, and as a kid, all I'd ever wanted was to be a part of a team; but not just any team though, I wanted to go all the way to the Olympics. But, I never really got the chance. Until the summer before junior year. That summer, I was given the chance to train with a renowned gymnast coach and to be a part of his team.

"I was completely blindsided and overwhelmed and excited and terrified and utterly torn. I was a power ranger and I loved being a ranger, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to achieve my dream, a dream I'd had since _before _I was a ranger; since I was kid. Suddenly, I had to make a decision."

"Should you continue to be a ranger and give up something you'd been dreaming since childhood, or do you give up your ranger duties to pursue something that has been a part of your life for so long?" Conner finished.

"Exactly," Kim nodded, "the others, Tommy especially, while they were sad I would be leaving, didn't want me to pass the chance up, but I didn't think I could make that choice. They were my friends, my family, and being a ranger, doing all that good, that was so important, but on the other hand, this was my childhood dream. How could I make that choice?"

"That's my point!" Conner jumped off the rock, "How can _I _make that choice? Being a ranger is great. I love doing this, but, soccer, it's always been there. It's been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I don't want to let the others down, but I can't sacrifice my personal dreams either."

"And no one is asking you to," Kim reached out to grab his arm, "I know Conner, how tough this decision is, and you're right; the others can't possibly understand why you're even considering this choice in the first place. To them it's simple; choose being a ranger because you're saving the world. And what's more important than that?"

"I don't know what to do," Conner said softly, "I thought I had, you know? I thought I'd already made my decision, but I haven't."

"That kind of decision can't be made in a day," Kim told him, cupping his cheek in her hand, "It took me like a week to make mine."

"How can I make it?" Conner asked, briefly closing his eyes.

"You think about it," Kim said, "and not what you've been doing because you've probably just been stressing about it, but actually think about it. I know this may sound cliché, but what does your heart say?"

His communicator beeped.

"Answer it," Kim said.

"This is Conner."

"_We need you downtown," Ethan's voice sounded, "Mesogog sent a monster."_

"I'll be right there," Conner said. He looked up at Kim, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Kim smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Now go get 'em."

Conner grinned and teleported out.

Kim sighed and jumped off the rock, making her way back to the house. She had no idea what decision Conner would make, but whatever it was, she would be behind him all the way.

~…~

Later that night, everyone was at the Command Centre. As always, the rangers had defeated the monster and were just relaxing with the older adults.

"So Conner," Adam said, "Did you make a decision?"

The question drew everyone's attention and they were all staring at the red ranger.

"I did," Conner nodded, looking at each of them, his gaze resting on Kira.

"And?" Tanya prompted, "What was it?"

"I decided to stay being a ranger," Conner told the room.

Everyone seemed to exhale with relief, Kira more so than the others.

"Can I ask what helped make up your mind?" Trini asked.

"Today when we fought Mesogog's monster," Conner said, "there was a little girl in danger and I saved her life. She gave me a hug and thanked me and that's when it hit me that nothing was more important that being a ranger, you know? This was what I want to do."

"Not that we wouldn't have supported you," Jason grinned, "As it'd have been a little hypocritical of us, but I'm glad you decided to stay."

"So am I," Ethan nodded with a huge grin.

Conner chuckled and looked over at Kira. His chuckles died down and he walked over to the yellow ranger, "Can we talk?"

Kira looked up at him and then nodded. The two headed outside and sat on the front porch steps.

"So," Conner started as he turned to look at the girl next to him, "you were pissed huh?"

Kira ducked her head and when she spoke, her voice was soft, "Yeah, I was."

"Why?" Conner asked, "I mean, I was under the impression that you didn't like me."

Kira sighed. "I don't hate you Conner, and I don't not like you either." _'That's the problem. Everything would be so much easier if I didn't like you.'_

"Hey," Conner nudged her gently, "What's going on? Talk to me."

"I was pissed at you for wanting to quit," Kira admitted at last, "but not for the reason you think."

Conner's brows furrowed, "Then for what?"

'_Can I do this? Can I open to him? Can I really trust him not to hurt me? __**Yes.**__' _Kira took a deep breath, "At first, I was angry because when I had given this up in the beginning, you had been the one to convince me to stay. And to find out that you were planning on giving it up, especially after you convinced me to stay, it blindsided me."

She stood up and started pacing, "You scare me Conner. You scare me because when I'm around you, I feel weird; I feel different. I get all these butterflies in my stomach when you're near and I can't help but to feel better when you smile. Being around you makes me feel…safe," she whispered the last part as she wrapped her arms around her stomach, "and that really scares me because I've never felt safe around anybody."

Conner stood up and walked over to her. His heart was pounding in his chest and he knew that he had to be careful how he handled this. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off, "Kira, what are you saying? Do you like me?"

"I'm not supposed to!" Kira glared up at him, hazel eyes becoming shiny with tears.

"Says who?" Conner asked. He stopped and then, he sighed, looking at her with earnest brown eyes, "Do you remember when we first met? Like two weeks before school started? I couldn't stop thinking about you and that's never happened to me before. I'm a jock Kira, _the _jock of the school, and I could have any girl I wanted. I've dated lots of girls, but I've never constantly thought about any of them the way I have about you."

He took a deep breath and slowly reached out to touch her cheek, using his thumb to gently wipe the tears that had spilled over away, "I keep feeling drawn to you and I don't know why. All I know is you're an amazing singer, an awesome ranger…and I like you."

At his words, Kira pulled away, "You can't like me!"

"And why not?" Conner demanded.

'_Because I'm not likeable. No one likes me. Guys don't want a girl like me; I'm too damaged.'_

"You just can't, ok?!" Kira shouted at him, "So don't say that!"

"Says who?" Conner asked as he glared at her, "Who says I can't like you?"

'_My parents.' _Kira thought, but she didn't say it out loud. Instead, she dropped her gaze from his.

"Kira," Conner's voice turned pleading, "I may be a jock, but I'm not stupid. I know there's a whole world that you're hiding; I can see it in your eyes. I know you have no reason to trust me, or even believe me, but I want you to. I want to be with you. I want all of you, even the parts that you're hiding."

"You can't," Kira's voice hitched on a sob, "You can't want me because no one does. I'm not worth it."

"I do," Conner insisted as he reached out and tipped her chin so he could look her in the eye, "I don't know what's wrong, and I don't know who would ever tell you that, I won't push you to tell me, just know that I'm here if you ever need to talk. But they're wrong Kira. I may not have known you long, but one thing I do know in the time I've known you is that you are definitely worth it."

Kira searched his eyes, trying to find any hint of lying, but she couldn't find any.

"Can I kiss you?" Conner asked softly.

Kira couldn't believe what she was hearing. He wanted to kiss her. A guy actually wanted to kiss _her_! She couldn't help but to nod.

Conner smiled and leaned down slowly, giving her time to pull away and when she didn't, he closed the distance between their lips.

It was short, sweet and completely perfect.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while now," Conner admitted without opening his eyes.

Kira let out a tearful chuckle, "Honestly? Me too."

"So since we just had our first kiss," Conner opened his eyes and smiled at the girl in front of him, "it's only logical we take the next step."

Kira frowned. _'He can't be serious? Is he talking about—I knew it! He's no different. My dad was right.'_

Before she could try to pull away or continue with her mental freak out, Conner spoke again.

"Kira, will you be my girlfriend?" Conner asked.

'_I thought I could trust him. I can't believe—wait what?'_

"What?" Kira asked. There's no way she heard right, "Did you just ask me to be your girlfriend?"

Conner shrugged, suddenly nervous. "Yeah…if you want to."

'_I-I can't believe this. He wants to be with me. He actually wants to be with __**me**__. You can do this Kira.' _"Ok," she nodded.

Conner's eyes lit up, "Really?"

Kira couldn't help but to grin in response. "Really."

Conner laughed and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her up and twirling her in the air.

Kira let out a squeal of laughter, "Conner!"

"Sorry," Conner grinned, not looking sorry at all.

The laughter faded from Kira and she looked up at him with solemn eyes as she bit her lip.

"What is it?" Conner asked.

"Just-just don't hurt me, ok?" Kira said softly, "I don't think I could handle it if you did."

"Hey," Conner rubbed her cheek, "I want to say 'never', but I'm a guy and I'm pretty sure I'll do something stupid that will hurt you, but, I can promise to try not to."

Kira stared at him, turning his words over in her mind. It wasn't perfect as far as promises went but she didn't trust it…not yet anyways, but she was getting there. "Ok."

* * *

**A/N 2: **so that's the chapter. Now, the scene where Kim and Conner talk, when I was just toying with the idea of doing this sequel, that was one of the scenes that I immediately had in mind and I'm glad to see it out there.

**A/N 3: **ok, enough rambling lol go review and let me know what you thought

_Kila_


	5. Deja vu Part Two

**Setting: **Dino Thunder; starts with the 'Moon Mission' and continues on through DT.  
**Story Summary: **Through unexpected situations, some of the former rangers are called back to action. They did their duty and life went on, but trouble stirs as a former ranger stumbles across a new power source. With the help of friends—near and far—they will create and mentor a new set of teens into becoming the newest members of the ranger family. This is the story of the Dino Thunder Rangers.  
**Chapter: 5: **Déjà vu Part Two  
**Episode Counterpart: 4-5: **Legacy of Power and Back in Black  
**Chapter Word Count: **9,363

**A/N:** First off, I'm so sorry for the two day delay. It's been a busy few days for me, so I didn't get a chance to finish the chapter and post it until a day or two ago. But thanks for waiting.

**A/N 2: **it's a little short, and it starts pretty much where the previous one left off. So…enjoy! And thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and pretty much loved this story so far! You guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban. I am not making any money from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"Speaking"  
_"Speaking over the phone"_  
_'Thinking'  
__**Kim's talk**_

**O.P.D.: **_Thursday 22__nd__ Aug. '13._

* * *

_Previously on ADD;_

_-some insight into Kira's home life_

_-the former rangers shared their suspicions about Kira and Hayley is told about Kim's past_

_-a new kid in town took an interest in Kira_

_-after missing an important soccer try-out, Conner had to make a choice on whether to continue being a ranger or not_

_-Kim opened up to Conner a bit about her past _

_-Conner made his decision to remain being a ranger_

_-Conner and Kira decide to be a couple_

* * *

After admitting how they felt about each other and becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, Conner and Kira headed back inside, a little wary of the others' reaction to the change in status of their relationship.

"So?" Kat asked when she saw the teens come back downstairs.

"I asked her to be my girlfriend," Conner replied as he smiled at the girl standing next to him, "And she said yes."

Ethan rolled his eyes, "It's about time. You guys have been dancing around each other since school started."

"Which was only a few days ago," Conner pointed out.

"Tomato, tomahto," Ethan responded with a grin.

"So it's not a problem?" Kira asked.

"Why would it be?" Billy asked, "Unless of course this decision is not one you made lightly nor is it one you want."

Kira bit her lip and then looked up at Conner. She locked eyes with him and felt that same sense of calm she always got around him, "I want this."

"Then no," Jason shook his head, "it's not a problem."

"Besides we'd be so hypocritical," Kat grinned, "considering we're all dating our former teammates."

The group laughed.

"So true," Aisha chuckled.

"Blame Tommy and Kim!" Rocky shouted. "They started it!"

"Hey!" Kim threw a couch cushion at him.

"Love you too sis!" Rocky grinned as he caught the cushion.

Laughter echoed throughout the room and the rest of the evening was spent just hanging out and talking.

~…~

About mid-afternoon the next day, Conner made his way to the Oliver house. Kira had a performance tonight, and everyone would be there, but there was something he needed to do first.

He pulled into the yard, parked next to Kim's car and got out. He went up the porch and knocked on the front door. When he got no answer, he tried the knob and found the door unlocked, so he went inside.

"Kim, are you here?" he called out.

"In the kitchen!" Kim shouted back.

Grinning, Conner closed the door behind him and headed to the kitchen to see Kim making a sandwich. "Hey."

Kim looked and smiled when she saw the teen, "Hey, what's up?"

"I know I thanked you for the talk yesterday," Conner started as he sat down on one of the stools at the island counter, "but I just wanted to say thanks again."

"Con it was no problem," Kim chuckled, "you needed someone to talk to, someone who could've actually understand completely what you were going through and I was happy to be that person for you."

She grinned over at him, "I gotta tell you though, I'm glad you decided to stay. And it's not because the rock wouldn't have worked for anyone else, but, you, Ethan and Kira, the three of you already have the making of a strong friendship and that sort of foundation makes for an even stronger ranger team.

"The other rangers, despite the fact that they most of them had far more advanced technology than we did, always referred to us as the best team ever simply because of how close we were. While the others didn't become friends until they were rangers, for the original five, it was the opposite; Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy and I have known each other since we were kids. When Tommy joined, he just fit in like he was always meant to, as did the others."

"Wow," Conner blinked as he thought about that, "That is so cool."

Kim laughed, "I know, right?"

She placed her sandwiches on a plate and walked over to the teen, taking a seat on the stool next to him.

"Here," Kim offered one of the sandwiches to Conner.

"Thanks," Conner smiled as he took it.

"So how're things going with you and Kira?" Kim asked.

Automatically, a smile appeared on Conner's face, "it's only been a day, but it's good. It feels right, you know?"

Kim smiled in response and nodded, "I do. I felt the same when Tommy and I first got together. The first time I saw him I knew he would be someone special to me. I just never realized how special, but I'm not complaining. At fifteen I found the love of my life."

She took a bite out of her sandwich and ate for a while before continuing, "I know people say that teens don't know what they want and that you never end up with your high school sweetheart."

"And that we're too young to really fall in love," Conner injected.

Kim smiled, "true, but I don't think so. I mean, I'm living proof. And not only me, but the others as well; Jason and Trini, Billy and Kat, Rocky and Aisha, Adam and Tanya and I'm pretty sure Zack is dating Angela again. We're all with our high school sweethearts.

"My point is, as clichéd as it sounds, if it feels right to you and you know in your heart that she's the one, then let no one change your mind. Your life is your own. And don't forget that you're putting your life at risk everyday by being a ranger. It might not seem like it, but you could die. We've had close calls ourselves, and one ranger even died, so that changes things."

Conner stared at Kim in shock, "A ranger died?"

"She came back," Kim explained, "and it's a somewhat complicated story for another time, but she's ok now."

Conner could only shake his head. Someone had died? Seriously?!

"Are you having second thoughts now?" Kim asked, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Conner laughed, "No, I'm not."

Kim smiled in response but lost it when she saw the time, "Crap!"

"Something wrong?" Conner looked at her in concern.

"No," Kim shook her head, "I have to go to Angel Grove today to see mom and dad." She put the plates away and ushered him from the kitchen.

"So you're gonna miss Kira's performance?" Conner asked as they walked to the front door.

"Yeah," Kim sighed, "Will you tell Kira I'm sorry I missed her? If I didn't have to go to see mom and dad I'd definitely be there."

"It's cool," Conner nodded, "Kira will understand."

"Good," Kim smiled. She really hoped the girl did as she didn't want her to feel like she didn't care or nothing. Having Kira's trust was important and she didn't want to lose it.

Kim locked the door behind her and headed to her car while Conner went to his.

"Hey Kim?" Conner called just as he was about to get in his car.

"Yeah?" Kim stopped and looked over at him.

"Do you regret it?" Conner asked. When he saw the confused look on her face, he continued, "Leaving the team back in high school? I mean, if you could go back in time and stop yourself from going to Florida, would you?"

Kim bit her lip as she thought on his question. Did she regret giving up her place as the Pink Ranger? Did she regret Florida? Considering what did happen to her in Florida, she should.

"No," Kim said at last, looking over at Conner, "I mean I should, but honestly I don't. If I hadn't given up my place, then Kat never would've been a ranger and I wouldn't take that from anyone. She deserved having her chance as a ranger and if I hadn't been 100% sure that she would be able to do it, I never would've given her the spot.

"And yeah Florida was horrible, but I got through it and I'm a stronger person because of it. If I was able to find the strength to get through that and everything that followed after, I can find the strength to get through pretty much anything else. Everything that happened to me in Florida, it gave me a new kind of strength and it made me more thankful for Tommy and the others."

Conner could tell by her words that something pretty serious went down, but he didn't ask. Not only was it not his place, or his business, but if she wanted him to know, she'd tell him. Though he was pretty curious.

"Understandable," Conner nodded, "Well thanks for talking to me."

"No problem. I'm here any time you want to talk," Kim smiled and waved, "See you later Conner and wish Kira luck for me."

"Will do," Conner grinned, "bye Kim."

The two exchanged one last wave and then pulled out the driveway; Kim heading to Angel Grove while Conner headed towards the café.

~…~

Tommy groaned as he parked his car in the café parking lot. His errands had taking longer than he'd expected, which wasn't a shock considering it was Saturday.

But he had made it to Kira's performance. Just as he had gone to everyone of Kim's, he planned to go to all of Kira's because he knew, as well as the others, that Kira needed to know that she had people that she could count on, that would always be there for her.

Getting out of his jeep, Tommy headed towards the café.

He never made it.

Just a few feet from the entrance, Zeltrax showed up with some Tyrannodrones.

"Shit!" Tommy cursed as he fell into a familiar fighting stance. "I'm not in the mood for this Zeltrax."

Zeltrax chuckled, "It matters not Dr Oliver; you're coming with me."

"No way!" Tommy shouted.

"Tyrannodrones attack!" Zeltrax ordered.

Tommy fought against the robot, and was holding his own, but Zeltrax joined the fight and he was pretty much soon overwhelmed.

Before he even realized what happened, he was being held by a few Tyrannodrones and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break their hold.

"My Master awaits your presence," Zeltrax laughed.

An invisiportal appeared and Zeltrax, Tommy and the Tyrannodrones disappeared.

~…~

Inside the café, Jason looked at his watch and then at the entrance. Tommy was supposed to have been there already.

"Jase?" Trini turned to her boyfriend, after watching him do that for a few more minutes. "What is it?"

"Tommy texted me earlier and said he was on his way," Jason told her, "He should've been here by now."

"Maybe he got held up," Trini suggested. "You know how Tommy is almost always late to something."

"I know," Jason nodded, "You're right."

"Of course I am," Trini smiled, "Look, let's just give him a few more minutes to show."

"Alright," Jason nodded, "I'll give him ten minutes."

Trini smiled at him and then turned back to Kira's performance.

Fifteen minutes later, Rocky walked over to the two, "You guys seen Tommy? I would've thought he'd have been here by now. Unless he went with Kim."

Jason frowned and glanced at his watch, "No, he didn't go with Kim. He texted me and told me he was on his way, but that was like almost a half hour ago."

The worry he had felt before came back with a vengeance and when he looked up at Rocky, Jason could see the same worry reflected in his eyes.

Soon enough, the others came over.

"What's going on?" Tanya asked.

Trini looked at her, "Have you guys heard from Tommy?"

"No," Tanya shook her head, "I thought he was here."

"He's not," Rocky answered.

"Did he go with Kimberly?" Kat asked, her blue eyes clouding over with concern.

"No," Jason shook his head.

"He's probably running late," Zack suggested, though it was obvious he didn't believe his own words.

"Then why do I have this horrible feeling that it's more?" Jason looked his childhood friend, "You guys know as well as I do that Tommy may be late but he's never this late and in our world—

"That can only mean one thing," Billy finished with a deep sigh.

"Tommy's been kidnapped," Aisha finished, sharing a look with her friends and former teammates.

"Before we jump to conclusions," Hayley injected, "let's go back to the Centre and try to pinpoint Tommy's last location."

"Hey guys," Ethan called as he and Conner joined them, "Have you guys seen Dr O?"

"Yeah I'm surprised he isn't here," Conner added on, "I mean, I know Kim wouldn't be because she's in Angel Grove, but I thought Dr O would."

The former rangers and Hayley exchanged looks.

"What's going on?" Kira asked as she walked over, stopping next to Conner. She looked around and frowned when she didn't see her science teacher and mentor, "Where's Dr O?"

Conner had told her earlier that Kim couldn't make it as she had to go back to Angel Grove and while she had been a little disappointed, she understood. But she had expected Dr O to be there.

"We don't know," Adam said. "He never showed up."

"Is he running late?" Ethan asked.

"I don't think so," Rocky shook his head.

The teens looked at each other, but before either one of them could say anything, Jason cut them off.

"Not here," He said, "And don't start panicking. We're not sure yet what happened to Tommy. So what we're going to do is go back to the Centre and try to get a lock on his communicator."

Kira reached out and grabbed Conner's hand, squeezing tightly, needing the comfort.

Hayley sighed, "I'll be there as soon as I can. I can't leave Trent here to deal with all these people with just one other as none of them know how to lock-up."

The others nodded at Hayley's words and quickly left the café. They all got into their vehicles and left the café, heading towards the Oliver house.

Fifteen minutes, the last car—Adam's—pulled into the yard and everyone hurried downstairs.

"What are we going to do?" Ethan asked as they descended the stairs to the basement.

"First we need to know what happened to Tommy," Trini answered as she moved to one of the chairs in front of the computer, "I'm going to log into the security feed at the café to see if I can find Tommy."

"When we know what happened, then we can proceed," Billy said as he took a seat next to Trini.

Conner pulled Kira with him as he sat down on one of the couches.

"I hope Dr O's ok," Kira said softly. She was scared. He was the first adult to show genuine concern for her and slowly he had come to mean something to her. If anything happened to him.

"He'll be fine," Conner whispered in Kira' ear once he saw the look on her face.

Kira looked up at him, a little surprised that he'd been able to know what she had been thinking.

"You think so?" Kira asked.

"I know so," Conner smiled at her and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his body.

"While we're waiting on Trini," Billy turned to look at the teens, "You guys should watch something."

"What?" Ethan asked.

"Jason?" Billy looked at his former leader.

Jason shook his head with a grin but went over to the shelf and grabbed a DVD. He inserted in the DVD player and turned the flat screen TV on.

When the teens saw what was on the screen, their eyes went wide.

"Is that?" Ethan asked.

"Yep," Zack grinned, "It's your legacy; footage from every team that came before you, starting with ours."

"You guys can watch it while Billy and Trini figure out what to do," Aisha smiled.

Kat walked over to her friends, "Do you think we should contact Andros to see if they can help?"

"I thought of that," Billy shifted to look at his girlfriend, "but Andros is docked on KO-35, so he wouldn't be able to offer much assistance."

"We'll find him," Trini smiled over at Kat as she reached out to rub the blonde's arms. She turned back to the computer and grinned, "Got it!"

Everyone turned to look and what they saw had them gasping out loud; Tommy fighting the Drones and then being taken by Zeltrax.

"Damnit!" Adam hissed as he watched the screen.

"At least now we know what happened," Zack said, though he looked horrified.

"Yeah but we have no idea how to find him now," Tanya sighed.

Billy looked at the screen thoughtfully, "You know, it's possible that we may be able figure out where they took Tommy."

"How?" Aisha raised an eyebrow.

Billy looked at Trini. "Do you remember when we sent Jason to the Dark Dimension?"

Trini's eyes lit up, "Of course! We could do the same thing here. If we could locate the excess energy particles given off by the invisiportal…"

"…then maybe we can use those same particles to create our own invisiportal; one that should take us right to where Tommy is!" Billy finished with a grin, blue eyes lighting up with excitement.

Trini bit her lip and then shook her head, "No, that wouldn't work, but maybe…Billy, what if we used the excess particles to not create our own portal, but to triangulate the portal that Zeltrax used on Tommy and reverse the signal?"

Billy's brows furrowed as he tried to follow his friend's line of thought, "so, instead of having to create a machine that would capture the particles, turn them into kinetic energy to open the invisiportal, we'd let the computer do it. We would lock on to the residual particles, like trying to trace a signal through a computer system."

"Exactly!" Trini nodded, "We use the signal, and retrace it to its original source and then reverse it back to where we want it. And voila! A portal taking us directly to Tommy."

The moment Trini and Billy had started talking, Ethan's attention had diverted from the video. He listened to the two and when he heard their plan, his eyes went wide and his voice filled with excitement as well.

"Can you really do that?" he asked, looking between the two.

"They probably can," Kat said with a laugh.

Jason chuckled and shook his head with a fond smile as he stared at the love of his life and his brother, "And they most likely will succeed."

Excitement filled the air as Trini and Billy laid out their plans.

"Do it," Jason nodded to the two.

Sharing smiles, Billy and Trini turned back to the computer.

Suddenly Rocky jumped up. "Oh shit!"

The move had drew everyone's attention.

"What is it?" Tanya frowned.

Rocky opened and closed his mouth a few times, obviously having a little trouble with what he had to say. Finally, Rocky swallowed and looked at the others.

"Kimberly," Rocky said. At the name, the others paled.

"How are we going to tell her?" Rocky continued, looking at each of them.

Adam ran a hand through his hair while Zack let out a groan.

At the computers, both Billy and Trini stopped what they were doing and turned fully to face the others.

Trini bit her lip, "Well we can't keep it from her."

Jason started pacing. "Ok look, Kim is Angel Grove right now visiting Mr and Mrs Oliver. She won't be back until tomorrow." He turned to the two at the computer, "Billy, Trini, how long is it going to take to do what you said?"

"Hours," Trini replied. She could've gone into all the technical details, but she knew none of them wanted to hear that right now. Not when they had more important matters.

"So basically," Jason clarified, "by the time you're done doing what you're doing, it won't be until tomorrow?"

"That is the gist of it," Billy nodded.

Zack walked over to Jason, "Wait, are you suggesting we keep this from Kim?"

The others looked at Jason.

Jason let out a groan, "I know, I know, but why worry her when there's nothing to be done until Billy and Trini do what they have to?"

Tanya nodded with a sigh, "He's right; Kim will just go out of her mind with worry and what'll make it worse is that she won't be able to do nothing."

"I'd agree with you," Aisha spoke up, "but you guys do remember this _is _Kim and Tommy, right? The same Kim and Tommy who always seem to know when the other is hurt. Remember Florida? And afterwards, and more specifically, the island?"

The former rangers winced slightly at the mention of Florida but they eyes did turn wide when Aisha was finished.

They had forgotten that.

"Uh," Conner looked from one former ranger to the other, "What about Dr O and Kim? What does she mean about Florida, and what island?"

"Kim and Tommy," Kat started, but then she stopped and smiled before continuing, "Kim and Tommy are two of the closest people you'll ever meet. They are so good together, but what makes them so amazing is the bond that they have between the two of them."

"From the time they first saw each other, they've always been close," Zack grinned, "From the moment they met, they seemed to gravitate towards one another. Even when Tommy had been fighting us as the Green Ranger, Kim was the exception. Yeah she got hurt, but I always thought he used to hold back…at least in the field."

"And then we broke the spell on him and he came to our side," Jason picked up, "And with both of them on the same side, that was it." Jason chuckled, "Tommy was pretty much the loner in our group, but not with Kim. I mean, yeah, he and I became close—we were bros—but with Kim it was different. She got him to open up in a way none of us—me included—have ever been able to do. She always seemed to know when he had a problem because she was always right there when he needed to talk."

"She knew when to give him space," Trini continued, though her fingers never stopped flying across the keyboard, "and he knew he could always go to her no matter what. But even that is nothing compared to their actual bond. I love Jason, more than anything in the world, and I know we're close and can sometimes do that whole communicating with looks thing, but Kim and Tommy…they own it."

Aisha grinned at the looks on the teens' faces. "She's right. I've known Rocky, and Adam, pretty much my whole life, but not even we can do what they do as perfectly as they do it. Tommy can have conversations with Kim without her having to say anything and vice versa. They are just that in tuned with each other."

"And what was that about the island?" Ethan asked. Hearing about Dr O's relationship with Kimberly sounded so interesting. To hear of two people so in love with each other…

"Well Tommy went to work with Anton Mercer," Kat answered, "but about three months in, something went wrong and the lab on the island exploded. Because of the connection they had with each other, Kim knew immediately that something was wrong; she could feel it. And then in high school, she was kidnapped by one of our enemies.

"Something happened because Tommy felt it. And then he got taken and was turned evil, again, but instead of working for the bad guys, he went after Kim. He saved her, but then he had thought he had lost her and it sent him into a rage. He almost destroyed the town."

"What?" the teens' eyes went wide with shock. Dr O, their Dr O, had done all that?

Kat grinned, "I know, Tommy doesn't seem the type, does he? But it's true. We couldn't get close to him, but Kim could. She managed to break him out of the spell. Kim and Tommy, they have this connection between them. A very strong connection that others have tried to break, but it only made it stronger."

"That sounds so surreal," Ethan breathed out. "I mean, two people, so in love and so connected." He shook his head, "Wow."

"I know," Conner glanced down at Kira. He hoped the two of them would get to a point like that.

"So when I said that this is Kim and Tommy," Aisha finished, "what I meant was, chances are, Kim already knows something has happened. She just won't know what."

Ethan glanced at his watch. The time read 9:15 p.m. "Well, it's just after nine, so maybe she's asleep."

"We can only hope," Adam said.

"You guys should finish the video," Tanya suggest, "there's nothing else to be done right now."

The three knew she was right, so they did just that.

By midnight, Jason was ordering everyone to bed. He told the teens to pause the video and told Billy, Trini and Hayley—who had shown up a little before to ten and had proceeded to help—to leave the program running so that it'd be working to find a signal even while they were sleeping.

Everyone had protested, the three teens especially, but Jason had been adamant. He had explained to the teens that the video was a few hours long, so they could finish it in the morning.

He had spoken in his leader voice and everyone reluctantly agreed to go to sleep.

Seven-thirty the next morning, Billy and Trini were the first ones up. After using the bathroom, they hurried downstairs and went back to the computers to see if they were any closer in finding a way to Tommy.

Half an hour later, Conner and Ethan stumbled down to the basement.

"You're up early," Trini commented as she glanced at them.

"I could say the same about you," Conner grinned at the Vietnamese girl.

"I've always been an early riser," Trini smiled in response, "Something that both Kim and Jason hates."

"I guess the idea of watching the video about all the former teams was just too much," Ethan grinned, excitement already dancing through him. "I just couldn't wait to finish it."

"Well, do proceed," Billy nodded towards the TV with a smile.

Conner walked over to the same couch he had been sitting on the night before while Ethan turned the TV back on.

Just as Ethan was about to sit down, Kira came down the stairs.

"Morning," Conner smiled at the girl.

Kira smiled almost shyly in response as she made her way over to him. She sat next to him, almost instinctively leaning her body into his.

"Morning," Kira replied when she felt comfortable.

"Did you sleep okay?" Conner asked softly, not wanting the others to overhear, though he wasn't really sure why.

Did she sleep okay? She had no nightmares, no worries. Despite her initial hesitation, sleeping with Conner's arms around her had been the safest thing she'd ever felt and it had been the first peaceful sleep she'd had in a long time.

"Yeah," Kira smiled, "I slept fine."

"Good," Conner smiled. Nothing else was said, so the two turned back to the video with Ethan.

Halfway through, Conner paused the video as he made a startling realization.

"Our teacher is the longest serving power ranger," he said to the other two.

Hayley walked down the stairs just in time to hear Conner's comment.

"Not just the longest," she smiled, "but he's the best as well."

"Can't argue with that," Zack grinned as he bounded down the stairs after her. He gestured towards the teens, "Continue watching. It's actually really good."

So they did, with Zack making commentary on a few things. It took about an hour and a half for them to watch the entire thing. Seeing all the teams that came before them was completely mind-blowing, especially to see some of what they had all accomplished.

They were almost at the end of the video when thundering footsteps drew their attention and they turned to see Rocky running down the stairs.

"You ok?" Trini asked as she turned to look at him, brows furrowing a little at his entrance.

Rocky bent over, hands on his knees and nodded. When he was sure his breathing was fine, he looked up, "Kim's car just pulled into the yard."

"Crap," Trini groaned.

"This is not good," Billy said. As soon as the words left his mouth, Kim came downstairs, the others following her.

"What happened to Tommy?" was the first thing out of her mouth.

"How do you know something happened to Tommy?" Jason asked.

"Don't mess me with me Jason Lee!" Kim whirled around to glare at her big brother. "I know something's wrong. I can feel it. Now are you gonna tell me?"

The others had winced and stepped back at the sight of Kim's glare and Conner for his part could only remember just two days ago when Kim had told him he wouldn't have liked it if she had gotten pissed off and now he could see what she had meant.

She was pretty scary.

"Mesogog took him," Aisha said as she stepped forward. "He was on his way to the café when Zeltrax showed up with some of those damn robots. He tried to fight them off, but he was overpowered. So, they took him."

"We've been trying to find a way to recreate the invisiportal that took him," Hayley said, "but it's taking a while."

Kim bowed her head and remained silent as she listened to them. Ever since she had arrived in Angel Grove yesterday, she had had a really bad feeling, but she had brushed it off; with all of them here, if anything happened, she'd know immediately.

So, she had pushed it out of her mind and concentrated on her visit with Melissa and James. But when she had fallen asleep last night, her dreams had been plagued with memories of their past and of nightmares about Zedd and Mondo. What had had her gasping awake was the falcon she had seen fall from the sky at the end.

She knew then that Tommy really was in trouble. After explaining to Melissa and James as best she could earlier this morning, she had left immediately.

Now, her suspicions were confirmed. Tommy had been taken by the rangers' enemy. There was only one reason why their enemy would take one of them; to turn them evil.

'_Not again. Why him? Why is it always him? Or us? Why not someone else? Why can't everyone just leave us alone?' _the thoughts swirled around Kim's mind and they made her angry. Because it really was just she or Tommy that all this shit kept happening to.

Didn't they deserve a break?

She was tired, so tired, of all the bad guys going after her or Tommy. What had they done to deserve it?

The more she thought on it, the angrier Kim got. It was an anger she had never really felt before. And with that anger, she felt something else. It was something she hadn't felt since high school…since the night Michael had been killed.

Ethan stared at Kim with shocked-filled wide eyes, but he wasn't the only one. "Uh, what's up with Kim?"

Kim was surrounded by a swirl of pink lights; it actually reminded the former Ninjetti—with the exception of Kat—of when Kim's power coin had been stolen and Zedd had been draining her life force.

Unlike then, the pink swirls seemed to get brighter until Kim was surrounded by a pink glow.

"Kimberly?" Kat called softly, confusion and worry evident in her tone.

"I…am…so…sick…and…tired…of it always being us," Kim growled out. She brought her head up and everyone gasped; her eyes were glowing pink.

Briefly, a bird appeared behind Kim; it wrapped its wings around her, making the pink light glow brighter, before it disappeared.

And so did Kim.

"Where the hell did she go?" Adam asked, looking around the room in confusion, as if he could and would somehow spot Kim.

Aisha shook her head with a sigh, "One guess."

"Tommy," Jason said.

~…~

Tommy could've sworn he was done with the whole getting kidnapped thing, but he was wrong.

Once again, he was taken by an enemy of the rangers and of course, he was being held in a dark cell.

The only difference between now and then, is back them, Zedd or Rita always made sure to take his communicator, but this time, he still had his. The only problem was that it wasn't working so he had no way of contacting the others…no surprise.

But in all honesty, he being kidnapped and held hostage was not his biggest concern.

It was how Kimberly would react to it that worried him. His fiancée was a strong person, one of the strongest he knew, but he knew that she had a temper and she had a breaking point.

Granted, despite the many things that have happened to them since they met, including Florida, it didn't seem like Kim would reach her breaking point. But this, this might be it.

Tommy let out a groan as he let his head fall back against the wall with a thud.

'_These bad guys are all the same.' _He sighed, _'well, the good news is, Kim is in Angel Grove visiting mom and dad and won't be back until tomorrow…or today as I have no idea how many hours have gone since they took me. The bad news is, I've been kidnapped and no doubt their plans for me are not good.'_

"I hate my life," Tommy moaned out loud.

"And you'll hate it even more Dr Oliver," Mesogog hissed as he came to a stop in front of Tommy's cell.

Tommy jumped to his feet, "Let me go you Dino-Freak!"

"I think not!" Mesogog hissed. He stepped back from the cell. "Tyrannodrones, bring him!"

The robots filed into the cell after their master unlocked it.

Tommy fought, or he tried to, but there were too many.

Soon enough, the robots had a hold of him and they dragged him from the cell down to the main room.

When they entered, Tommy saw the chair in the middle with a laser beam pointed directly at it.

'_Oh fuck no! This…is…not…happening!' _he thought to himself as he struggled even more.

"You better let me go Mesogog!" Tommy grunted out as he tried to fight off the robots.

It was no use. Quicker than he thought, he was strapped onto the chair. "You're gonna regret this!"

Mesogog chuckled as he watched the human struggle before him. "You amuse me Dr Oliver. You are at my mercy and you think I will regret this? You cannot do anything."

Tommy glared at the dino-monster, "Yeah? Well I'm not the one you should be worried about."

"And just who should I be worried about?" Mesogog asked.

At that moment, a pink light appeared in the room. When it cleared, Kim was standing there…dressed in her pink Ninjetti garb.

Tommy was completely floored, but he didn't show it. Instead, he just grinned, "Her."

"Who is this?" Mesogog hissed. He couldn't believe that a Power Ranger had found their way to his base. And one he'd never seen as he was sure there were only three Power Rangers and they were not that colour.

Kim didn't even bother responding the master villain behind her. Her eyes and attention were completely on the man lying on the chair.

"Really?" Kim questioned as she walked over to him, "As if we haven't done enough of this shit already!"

Tommy winced, "it wasn't my fault…it really wasn't!"

Kim glared up at him, "Somehow, I find that so hard to believe!"

"It's the truth!" Tommy insisted.

Kim ignored her fiancée and continued removing the ties around his wrists. "It's like you can't get enough! Ever since we met you've always been pulled into this crap! Aren't you tired of getting involved?!"

"Now Kim," Tommy placated, "you know I didn't ask for all that. And I kinda have to be involved now anyways because we are mentoring the three."

"That is not the point!" Kim yelled as she moved to his other wrist. "You could've run! You could've said no!"

Tommy looked at her in disbelief, "Really? So I should've just told Zeltrax, 'sorry man, but can you please not abduct me this time? It's happened too much already'. Right Kim, I'm sure that would've worked."

"Don't you dare be a smartass Tommy Oliver!" Kim glared at him as she moved to his ankle.

"Sorry Beautiful," Tommy winced.

Meanwhile, in the background Mesogog could only watch the scene in shock and disbelief. He was not used to this. His minions cowered from him and the rangers feared him, but this ranger, this one didn't even seem to care.

She was ignoring him! That would not do!

"Who are you?" Mesogog demanded.

Kim whirled around, having finally freed Tommy, "Listen here buddy! I am already so fucking pissed off that you do _NOT _want to mess with me! Got it!"

How dare that ranger speak to him, Mesogog, like that?!

Incensed, Mesogog growled and walked over to Kim.

Tommy's eyes went wide. "Move!"

Kim grunted as Tommy pushed her out of the way. She stumbled and whirled around. When she saw her fiancée fighting the Dino-villain, she growled and her eyes glowed pink.

'_You messed with the wrong fucking ranger'_

A screech sounded in the room, startling Mesogog and Tommy and bringing Elsa and Zeltrax into the room.

"I am fucking tired of you villains always attacking us!" Kim screeched.

Mesogog turned and made to fire at Kim, but she ducked the blast and sent a side kick to his mid-section. The force behind it had the villain staggering back into Elsa and Zeltrax.

Tommy looked at his fiancée in shock. Kim had powers, and not just any powers, but her Ninjetti powers. He knew that back in high school they had reappeared briefly, but they had disappeared.

But now, it seemed like they were back. And stronger than before.

'_Mesogog has no idea who he messed with.'_ Came the gleeful thought as Tommy watched his fiancée with eyes full of pride.

"Master!" Elsa hissed before she turned on Kim, "You're gonna regret that Pinky!"

"Like I haven't heard that before," Kim sneered. She dropped into a stance, "Bring it on!"

Elsa growled and attacked.

Kim…fought back.

Elsa, no matter how hard she tried, just couldn't land a blow on the pink ranger. Instead, the villainess found herself hitting the ground over and over.

That was the scene the Dino rangers appeared on.

~…~

Back at the Command Centre, everyone is still shocked by what just happened.

"How is that possible?" Ethan asked, looking at each of the former rangers, "I thought you guys said you didn't have powers anymore."

"We don't," Tanya answered.

"Kim does," Conner said.

"I know," Tanya sighed, "and I am honestly not sure how."

"Who cares about Kim having her powers back," Jason interrupted, "what we need to focus on is Kim herself and Tommy."

"You know," Rocky spoke up, "this kinda reminds me of when Zedd had kidnapped Kim and Tommy went after her."

"Yes but Tommy did that with help from us," Billy looked at him, "Kim didn't. She teleported out of here, and using her Ninjetti powers no less. You did see the Crane, right?"

"Did you hear her?" Kat asked, stopping the discussion of the powers and bringing the room's attention to her. "What she said, I've never heard Kimberly speak that way before. Not even after Michael."

Aisha leaned against Rocky, "Well can you really blame her? She's right, you know? Ever since they became rangers, it's always been them; if not her alone, or him alone, then it's the both of them."

"Everyone has their breaking point and I guess Kim reached hers," Zack added on, "though I'm not really surprised. I mean, we all know Kim has a temper, but that it takes a while or something big, to really piss her off. I guess this was the last straw."

From her position against Conner, Kira watched the discussion with wide eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Would this group never stop surprising her? The concern and worry she could hear, and see, for Kimberly had her puzzled and a little jealous. She has never received anything like that from her own parents.

And to see this group, who are not even blood related, be so concerned for someone who's not related to them was slightly overwhelming.

"I've got it!" Trini's excited voice cut through everything and they all turned to look at her.

"What?" Jason asked.

"It's done," Trini told them, "an Invisiportal will appear just at the edge of the property. It'll take you right to where Tommy is."

The teens looked at each other. Could they really do this?

Hayley watched them and saw the indecision on their faces and hid her smile. Instead, she grabbed the remote and un-paused the video.

"You need to see this," she told them.

The three turned to the TV, as did the others, and could only watch with wide eyes as Tommy gave them a glowing endorsement. When it was over, the room was silent.

"He really believes in us that much?" Conner asked.

"Yes he does," Jason nodded, "and so do we."

Conner turned to his two teammates, "What do you guys think?"

Kira for her part was quiet as she allowed the content of the video to settle in. Dr O believed in her. This was something that completely shocked her as she really had never before felt such complete trust from an adult before.

But this group of adults, not just Dr O, was determined to keep proving her wrong. Every time she made the decision to pull away, they did something that made her desperate to accept them. And she wanted to…she so wanted to.

"Kira?" Conner asked softly, slowly and gently touching his girlfriend's arm.

Kira looked up at him, looked around at the others and then back at Conner.

"Let's do it," Kira nodded. "Dr O believes in us and he trusts us to know what we're doing and to do it. I've never had that before and I don't want to let him down."

"Ok," Ethan clapped his hands, "Let's do this."

"Good," Trini nodded, her fingers flying across the keys, "morph up and then go to the edge of the property. The Invisiportal will appear there in five minutes."

"Got it," Conner nodded. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Ethan and Kira echoed.

"DINO THUNDER, POWER UP! HA!" the teens said as one.

Within seconds, they were morphed and teleporting out, reappearing at the edge of the property.

"So we're going to rescue Dr O and Kim and kick some robot ass while we're at it?" Ethan asked.

"Pretty much," Conner looked at his blue teammate.

The portal appeared right then and the three entered.

When they exited the portal, it was to a shocking sight.

They saw Dr O fighting Zeltrax, while Mesogog stood to the side. But what had really shocked them was Kim fighting Elsa…and winning.

"No freaking way!" Ethan breathed.

Kim-tiny, perky, always smiling, always cheerful Kim-was holding her own against Elsa.

"A little help would be nice," Tommy shouted towards his students when he saw them just standing around.

The shout jolted the rangers, and they quickly got into it when Mesogog ordered the Tyrannodrones to attack.

"We should get out of here!" Kira shouted to her teammates.

"Good idea!" Conner responded. "Ethan, get rid of that machine!" he pointed towards the beam that Mesogog had planned on using on Tommy.

"On it!" Ethan said as he nodded as he grabbed his blaster and pointed it towards the machine. Without thought, he fired at the machine, destroying it with one blast.

Mesogog roared in rage, shaking the room.

"Time to go!" Tommy yelled as he kicked Zeltrax away and went to Kim's side. He grabbed Elsa and threw her across the room. "We're leaving!"

Kim nodded and went towards the teens.

Tommy took off after her, but stopped and turned back to grab the black box before continuing after her and the others.

"After them!" Mesogog roared at Elsa and Zeltrax and the two henchmen and the Tyrannodrones took off after the rangers.

The rangers, Tommy and Ki, get to where the Invisiportal is and quickly jump through it, reappearing downtown.

Immediately, Zeltrax and Elsa appeared with the Tyrannodrones and Zeltrax fires a blast towards Tommy.

"Dr O!" the teens shouted.

Tommy brought up his hand, the one holding the black box, at the last minute. The blast hit him, and he disappeared from view.

"NO!" Kira shouted, feeling her heart break.

Zeltrax started laughing.

~…~

In the Command Centre, the former ranger stared at the scene in completely disbelief.

"Oh my God," Hayley whispered, tears building in her eyes.

"Calm down," Aisha said, never taking her eyes from the screen.

"How can you say that?" Tanya demanded, "Tommy is—

"Ok," Aisha cut her off.

"How do you know?" Kat asked.

"Look at Kim," Aisha glanced the blonde, "She's not reacting."

The others did do as she said and they were surprised to see that Kim really wasn't freaking out.

"If he had been gone," Aisha continued, "She'd know, and so would we."

~…~

"Looks like your Dr O is history!" Zeltrax taunted as she stared at the rangers. She started laughing.

"You'll pay for that!" Ethan growled.

He made a move to attack, but Kim reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Don't," she ordered,

The blue helmet turned towards her, as did the red and yellow. "How can you not react? Dr O is gone!"

"No he's not," Kim calmly told him.

"You need to get with the program Pinky," Elsa sneered, "your precious Dr O is gone."

"Someone said my name?" Tommy's voice sounded.

Everyone—minus Kim—looked around in shock.

Tommy appeared next to Kim with a grin on his face.

Kim rolled her eyes, "Really Tommy."

Tommy chuckled and gently nudged her shoulder. "You love me."

"How is this possible?" Elsa demanded.

"This," Tommy held up the Dino gem, "And you know the good thing about Dino gems?"

"What's that?" Elsa asked.

"They go real well with morphers," Tommy grinned as he pulled out the black morpher and connected it with the gem, "DINO THUNDER, POWER UP!"

Within minutes, Tommy was standing there in a black ranger uniform.

"Seriously?" Kim pulled the mask off and raised an eyebrow in her fiancé's direction.

"Just like riding a bike," Tommy grinned.

"Aren't you a little too old to be a ranger?" Elsa demanded, seething with rage. That rock had belonged to their master and she knew he would be angry at them for allowing the rangers to harness its powers.

Kim grabbed Tommy's blaster and fired at the villainess. "I'm tired of you."

Elsa dodged the blast but glared at the pink ranger, "Attack!"

While Zeltrax and the drones went after the Dino rangers, Elsa went after Kim…again.

The two sides battled it out, neither one giving an inch.

Elsa to her surprise, found that she had a very hard time getting the upper hand on the pink ranger. And it pissed her off.

She increased her attacks, as well as the power behind them. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't enough to defeat Kim.

Kim was able to deflect every blow that Elsa threw at her, and return it in full force. Personally, Kim was completely stoked and shocked; stoked because of the power coursing through her, but shocked because she knew she wasn't supposed to have the powers in the first place.

Soon enough, the Tyrannodrones were destroyed and both Elsa and Zeltrax were losing badly when Mesogog sent a monster.

Already starting to feel the effects of the fight, the rangers quickly form the Z-Rex Blaster to destroy the monster, but, of course Mesogog made it grow.

"_I'm sending the Brachio Zord," Billy said over the communicator, "Along with the others Zords, including the Cephala Zord."_

"Copy that," Conner answered.

The Zords appear, and the rangers form the Megazord. The fight took a while, but they manage to destroy the monster after the Cephala zord attached to the Megazord as an arm.

"We'll be back rangers," Elsa growled and then she glared at Kim, "and you pink ranger, this is not over!"

"I look forward to it," Kim replied back.

Growling once more, Elsa and Zeltrax jumped into the Invisiportal that appeared.

Sighing, the rangers looked at each other.

"Let's head back to the Command Centre," Tommy suggested, "Do not power down until then. You never know who could still be around."

The teens nodded and all five teleported out.

~…~

They appeared in the Command Centre and immediately, Zack and Adam rushed Tommy.

"I can't believe you're the black ranger!" Zack laughed.

"Seriously dude," Adam chuckled, "another colour. You just couldn't leave ours alone?"

"Hey!" Tommy punched him playfully as he powered down, "I didn't ask to be another ranger, although, it does bring one big problem."

"What's that?" Jason asked with a grin.

"I need to go shopping," Tommy smiled, "I have a serious lack of black clothes in my closet."

The boys shared a laugh, as did the others. Except Kim.

"You think this is funny?!" Kim snapped as she stomped over to him.

Seeing her coming, Adam and Zack wisely backed away and the room went silent.

"Kimberly," Tommy started.

"Don't!" Kimberly pointed a finger at him, "We said we were just going to be mentors! That we were done with being active rangers, but _no_, you had to be the black ranger!"

"I didn't ask for this!" Tommy said, his eyes flashing with frustration. He was trying hard not to get angry or yell at Kim as he had never done that before in his life…ever.

"Oh really?!" Kim snorted, "Then why the extra morpher? You knew about the other gem and you had another morpher created just for it! Admit it!"

"Alright I did!" Tommy snapped, running a hand through his hair.

"Should we stay here or do we sneak out?" Ethan whispered to Jason.

"Don't even try," Jason whispered back, "she'll go after you too."

"Just try to remain still," Kat advised.

Ethan looked over at them, "Are you serious?"

Trini touched his arm, "Very." Though, her lips were twitching.

"Trust us," Billy added on. He gave a slight shudder as he remembered the last time Kim had been this pissed off. No more secret missions, or helping with morphers without saying anything, for him.

"I didn't ask for it Kimberly!" Tommy started pacing, "You know I wouldn't have done this to us!"

"But you did because you're a ranger again!" Kim retorted, brown eyes flashing pink.

Tommy took a step towards her, "and you think I did this on purpose? You know as well as I do that once the gem bonds with you there's no going back. Especially now that Mesogog _knows_ I'm the black ranger. Even if I decide not to do this, it won't make a difference."

He sighed and reached out to touch her arm, "Is that what you want? Do you want me to give this up?"

Kim closed her eyes and turned away from him, her shoulders shaking.

"Kim," Tommy tried, "Beautiful, talk to me…please."

Sighing, Kim turned back around. _**I'm scared Tommy. So scared. We've had so many problems with the ranger world.**_

"But we've had a lot of good too," Tommy said as he reached out to grab her arm to pull her closer to him, "We have each other and we met some really good friends."

_**I know, but the others haven't had crap happen to them like we did. We've had so much shit happen to us.**_

"I know B," Tommy soothed as he pulled her into his arms for a quick but tight hug. "I know all that, and I swear to you if I could, I'd give this up."

Kim sighed and pulled back to look up at him, "I can't ask you to do that. If I did, then I wouldn't be the girl you loved, and if you actually did that, then you wouldn't be the person I love either. No, I'll find a way to deal with it."

"I love you," Tommy smiled at her before leaning down to kiss her.

Kim smiled and kissed him back.

"What the hell?" Conner asked, brows furrowing as he looked at his two mentors.

"Kim and Tommy," Trini said with a smile.

"They just had a one sided conversation, right?" Ethan asked.

"Yep," Adam nodded, "it's something they've always been able to do."

Kira stared at the two adults kissing in front of her, "they have that strong a bond?"

"Yeah," Aisha nodded, "it's amazing to witness. I mean, we all have that bond with our own significant others, but Tommy and Kim—

"There's just something about the two of them that seems more," Kat continued with a grin as she rested her hand on her stomach, "I suppose though that it could be because of everything they've been through, but, then again…"

"It's Kim and Tommy," Tanya finished.

Said two ended their intimate embrace and turned to their friends.

"So everything's ok now?" Hayley asked as she looked at two of her best friends.

"No more scary-Kim?" Jason teased.

Kim laughed, "I'm fine, I'm not angry anymore."

"Thank God," Ethan breathed, "You are one scary person when you're angry."

Kim grinned bashfully as she curled further into Tommy while everyone laughed.

"I remember you told me I wouldn't like it if you got pissed off and earlier I believed you but now," Conner shook his head with a smile, "now, I definitely plan to never ever make you pissed off at me. Ethan's right; you _are _scary when you're angry."

"Shut up," Kim groaned as she buried her face in Tommy's chest.

"Sorry B," Tommy laughed as he tightened his grip on her, "but you are pretty scary."

"I hate you all," Kim said.

Aisha laughed as she bounded over to the two, "No you don't. You love us."

Kim laughed as her best friend threw her arms around, pulling her from Tommy's embrace.

"What I love is the fact that Kim has her Ninjetti powers," Rocky injected.

"I know right?" Adam chuckled, "I thought they were gone, but then again, it is one half of the strongest ranger couple."

"Oh god," Kim moaned.

"What?" Kira looked between the adults, completely confused.

"Oh!" Trini clapped her hands, "we have so much to tell you."

"No!" Kim playfully shouted. "There is no discussion."

"Sure sis," Jason grinned as he threw an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders.

"There's lots," Zack stage whispered to the teens.

"Tell us," Conner grinned, wrapping an arm around Kira and pulling her close.

"Okay," Adam smiled, "So, here's the ins and outs of the Tommy and Kim relationship; the White Falcon and his Pink Crane."

"Oh god," Tommy groaned as he moved to sit on the basement stairs.

The others laughed at the looks on their friends' faces, but didn't stop their storytelling.

"It's a good thing today is Sunday and the café isn't open," Hayley said as she sat down next to him.

"I know," Tommy smiled.

"Is she really going to be ok?" Hayley asked, looking at Kim.

"She will be," Tommy nodded, "I mean, none of us is thrilled by it and she's probably gonna get back at me for keeping it a secret, but she understands. And besides, she has her own powers and despite the grief and slight fear, she'll be excited once it really sinks in."

Hayley laughed and nudged him.

Tommy smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders as he watched his fiancée and friends.

Yes, he had to deal with the fact that he would once again be in the spotlight for their villain, but for now, he was just gonna forget about that and enjoy the rest of the day with his loved ones.

* * *

**A/N 3: **so that's the chapter. Now, the scene where Kim teleports out and appears at Tommy's side and when Tommy is freaking out not because he was taken by Mesogog, but rather, Kim's reaction to it, those were the other two scenes I immediately had in mind back when I was just toying with the idea of doing this sequel and I'm glad to see them out there.

**A/N 4: **ok, enough rambling lol go review and let me know what you thought

_Kila_


	6. Kira

**Setting: **Dino Thunder; starts with the 'Moon Mission' and continues on through DT.  
**Story Summary: **Through unexpected situations, some of the former rangers are called back to action. They did their duty and life went on, but trouble stirs as a former ranger stumbles across a new power source. With the help of friends—near and far—they will create and mentor three teens into becoming the newest members of the ranger family. This is the story of the Dino Thunder Rangers.  
**Chapter: 6: **Kira  
**Episode Counterpart: 6: **_Diva in Distress _

**Chapter Word Count: **8,163

**A/N: **sorry for the long wait. I really am. Now, this chapter is all about Kira, hence the title. And it fits perfectly with the episode.

**A/N 2: **I had debated waiting until Tuesday to post, but I figured everyone would've hunted me down, so…here it is! Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and pretty much loved this story so far! You guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban. I am not making any money from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"Speaking"  
_"Speaking over the phone"_  
_'Thinking'_

**O.P.D.: **_Saturday 14__th__ September, '13._

* * *

_Previously on ADD;_

_-Kim and Conner have a talk_

_-Tommy gets kidnapped on his way to Kira's performance_

_-The teens meet the former rangers and watch a video on their ranger legacy_

_-Kim's Ninjetti powers return and she goes to Tommy's aide_

_-Tommy becomes the new black Dino ranger_

* * *

Kira sighed as walked into her house. She closed the door behind, making sure not to slam it, as she didn't want to get into it with her parents, and then she made her way upstairs to her room.

She didn't call out to her parents as she knew they wouldn't acknowledge her anyways, and in all honesty, she just wanted to avoid them.

In her room, she dropped her book-bag next to her desk and then went over to her bed and collapsed onto it.

The last few weeks had been tough, but surprisingly, she wouldn't have changed them for anything.

Not once had she ever thought that things would have happened like they had, especially for her. Not only was she a power ranger, but she was respected and cared about by the former rangers.

And on top of that, she had a boyfriend. Her! With a boyfriend!

Even now, it was still just a little surreal.

Never did she think that any boy would be interested in her. Her parents had drilled into her head that not only would a boy not like her, but if showed any interest, it would be just for sex and sex only which was fine because that would be all she'd ever amount to.

Hearing the words had hurt. A lot.

And at first, that's why she had been wary of Conner. But, he had proven to her that he wasn't like that.

Apart from their first kiss when he had asked her to be his girlfriend, Conner hadn't pushed her to do anything else. Instead, he had just been there for her to talk to, to seek comfort from and to feel safe around.

He had made her trust him, something she never thought she'd be able to do. And it wasn't just he she trusted either.

She trusted Dr O as well. And she was starting to trust the other guys as well too.

That was something that was such a huge deal for her, but, slowly, she was learning to see that not everyone was like her parents.

"Your mother cooked," Patrick said from the doorway, drawing Kira's attention, "Get down there…now."

He walked away, leaving his daughter staring after him.

Kira sighed and got up to follow her father.

At the dinner table, Kira kept her head down as she listened to her parents talk. She never said anything. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to say, it was just that her parents didn't care and they never said anything to her unless it was to give her chores or berate her for something.

"Who was that boy you were talking to?" Elizabeth asked at her daughter. God, sometimes she wished she had had an abortion or given the little shit up for adoption.

Kira froze and Patrick looked from his wife to his daughter.

"What boy?" Patrick demanded. "Kira?"

"No one," Kira replied, placing her hands in her lap and keeping her eyes down, "He's just a boy from school."

"And why was he talking to you?" Patrick leaned back in his seat.

Kira's mind raced. They couldn't know about Conner. "A project, a school project."

Elizabeth snorted, "Like it would be for any other reason. You've seen the girl Patrick. What boy in their right mind would want to date her?"

Each word was like a blow to Kira and her eyes filled with tears, but, she took a deep breath and blinked them back. She'd learn at young age to never let them see her cry.

"May I be excused?" she asked.

Patrick stared at his daughter's bowed for a few minutes before sighing, "Fine. But I want this kitchen cleaned up tonight."

"Yes sir," Kira responded and stood up. She placed her dishes on the counter and left the kitchen. The moment she was out of her parents' sight, she quickly ran up the stairs to her room.

There, she closed her door—making sure not to lock it—and fell on her bed. She buried her face in her pillow and finally let her tears fall.

Not for the first time, she wondered what she had done to make her parents hate her so much and why they didn't love her.

~…~

In school the next day, Kira did her best to avoid the flow of students. She could feel some stares on her and she wished they would just stop.

Ever since she and Conner had appeared the first morning after they got together, holding hands, stares and whispers had followed her.

She knew most of the students, especially the cheerleaders, were wondering why Conner was with her and she had suffered some hateful words. But the thing of it is, compared to what she heard from her parents, the students' words meant and did nothing to her.

Of course, at first deep down she had been filled with doubt, but later that day, Conner had come to her defence in front of practically the entire school and had told them that she was who he wanted to be with and nothing was going to change it.

Majority of the girls were put out, but seeing that none of them wanted to be on his bad side, they had accepted it and moved on.

Now, all she got were a few stares.

"Hey," Conner's voice sounded the same time she felt him next to her.

Instantly, Kira felt warmth fill her and all bad thoughts fled. She glanced up at him, "Hey."

"You ok?" Conner asked softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Kira thought about it for a few seconds before nodding, "Yeah…I'm fine."

Conner's smile was bright, "Good. Come on, let's go to class."

Kira pressed further into his side, still marvelling at the fact that she could do so, and the two headed to their first class of the morning.

She had no idea her good mood would vanish by the end of the day.

~…~

At the end of the school day, three teens made their way to the café.

Ethan called out to Trent, but neither Conner nor Kira paid any attention to the boy.

Kira was too busy lost in her thoughts and Conner was worried about his girlfriend.

Kira had been quiet all afternoon and Conner had noticed that it had started just after lunch, right around the same time that the rumours about Kylee Styles. Something about the pop star had shifted his girlfriend's mood but he didn't know what…or why.

"Kira," Conner started and then he stopped. He looked around, noticing the crowd and knew they'd have little to no privacy, and he had a feeling they would need it. So, he grabbed Kira's hand and led her out the café and to his car.

Still not talking, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the lake. He got a secluded spot and parked. Turning off the ignition, he turned to his girlfriend. "Ok, now what's going on? You've been different ever since you heard Kylee Styles was coming to town. What's up?"

Kira bit her lip as she locked gazes with Conner. She couldn't tell him, could she? How could she tell Conner the real reason she was upset? Could she trust him?

'_Yes…I can. He's proven that.'_

She squeezed his hands, "It's…complicated."

"Tell me," Conner pleaded, "Something is hurting you and I hate seeing you in pain. Please…let me help you."

'_I can do this. I can tell him.'_

Kira took a deep breath. "I know Kylee, or at least, I used to know her."

Conner was shocked. That was _not _what he was expecting. "How?"

"We were childhood friends," Kira answered softly, "She and I used to play together when we were kids. We were, we were best friends and did everything together."

"So what changed?" Conner asked. Somehow he knew the story behind the girls' break-up wasn't pretty.

Kira's shined with tears and became distant as she lost herself in her memories, "We used to sing together all the time, but people preferred hearing me sing over Kylee. And she didn't like that. Even at a young age, she was jealous."

The tears had spilled over and ran down Kira's cheeks, but she didn't notice. She was too caught up in telling her story. "When we were about nine, there was a singing competition. It was a huge deal because it was the competition that basically was the jump start of Kylee's career. The thing of it is though, it was supposed to be the both of usin that competition. But Kylee knew that just like always,"

"Everyone would choose you," Conner supplied.

"Yeah," Kira nodded. She closed her eyes, causing more tears to run.

"You don't have to continue," Conner said gently. His heart was aching for the girl next to him and he desperately wished that there was something he could do to help her.

Kira opened her eyes and looked at him. Seeing the love and concern he held for her in his brown eyes, filled her with courage and gave her the strength to continue, "I know, but I want to."

"Ok," Conner nodded. "Go on. What happened?"

Kira took a shuddering breath. "Kylee, she was determined to win at any cost, and she knew the only way to win was to get me out of the competition."

"What did she do?" Conner asked, almost hesitantly.

Kira paused. She knew that to Conner to fully understand the severity of what had happened between her and Kylee, he had to know about her home life.

Which she didn't want to do. She's never talked about her life at home. _Never_. And she especially didn't want Conner to know just how messed up her life really was.

But…she felt safe around him. She trusted him. And for the first time, she _wanted_ to talk. The thing of it was, she had no idea how to even start.

"Kira?" Conner slowly reached out and grabbed his girlfriend's hand. "What is it? Please talk to me."

"A few days before the competition," Kira kept her gaze on their joined hands, "Kylee was at my house. She broke one of my mom's pottery vase and then blamed it on me. My mom believed her and she was furious and when my dad found out..."

Kira's crying turned to sobbing, "Kylee had no idea what she had done. All for a fucking stupid competition! She wanted my parents to ground me, but they did worse than that."

Conner felt like his heart was breaking into pieces just watching Kira break down in front of him. He wanted to comfort her, but before he did, he needed to know.

"What happened Kira?" he asked, "What did your parents do?"

The words spilled out.

"They beat me!" Kira sobbed and Conner froze at the confession, "It was horrible! They wouldn't listen when I tried to tell them it wasn't my fault. They thought I was lying and that just made it even worse! Do you know what it's like to go days without eating?!"

Conner couldn't take it anymore. He unbuckled both his and Kira's seatbelts and pulled his crying girlfriend into his arms.

Kira buried her face in his shoulder as her arms went around his neck and his went around her waist, holding her tight to him. "How could she do that Conner? We were supposed to be friends?"

Tears fell from Conner's eyes as he listened to Kira. The pain in her voice cut into him and what made it worse was that he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

Now he understood why Kira didn't like the pop star and he couldn't believe he had actually liked someone so selfish and full of themselves that they'd be willing to hurt someone just to get what they wanted.

And if this happened when they were kids, he could only imagine the person Kylee had grown into.

As he soothingly rubbed Kira's back, he wondered if Kylee ever thought about the life she had destroyed with her lie.

Shaking his head, he kept rubbing Kira's back until she had calmed down.

When her sobs had died down to sniffles, he gently pushed her away so he could look into her eyes. "Look at me. I'm going to ask you something and I don't want to, but I have to."

"Ok," Kira whispered.

Conner took a deep breath and let it out, "Does your parents abuse you?"

Kira stared at her boyfriend before she slowly shook her head. "No…they don't."

Conner's look was sceptical. "Kira…"

"They don't!" Kira insisted. "They don't hit me or anything." _'They just yell and say a lot of things they know will hurt me.'_

"Kira, I saw the bruise on your arm that first day that Dr O took us to the dojo," Conner said.

Kira sighed. She had had no idea he had seen that. She had thought it had only been their teacher/mentor. "That was the first time my dad put his hand on me. He didn't hit me or anything. He had gotten angry and had grabbed my arm too hard. He hasn't done anything like that since."

"You're sure?" Conner asked, "I care about you, a lot, and I hate the idea of someone hurting you, even if it's your parents."

Kira couldn't help but to smile and she gave him a quick kiss, "Thank you. But I promise, my parents aren't hitting me."

Conner blew off and then reached up to wipe the rest of her tears away. "Are you ok now? I mean, that was some pretty heavy stuff you told me and it affected you, even after all this time."

Kira sighed heavily, but was still smiling and revelling in the concern—and dare she say it, love?—she could feel coming from him. "I'm ok. It hurt, I won't lie, to remember all that pain, but I think I feel better because I've never talked about it with anyone else since it happened. You're the first."

Conner smiled, "Well I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me. So, do you want to go back to the café and we can talk about how bad Kylee is?"

Kira giggled—Conner delighted in it—and kissed him again, pulling back with a smile, "I'd like that."

After kissing once more, Conner shifted Kira back to her seat and smiled over at her, "Ok then."

Kira settled back into her and felt her body relax as Conner started the car. She still couldn't believe she had told him that story, but she honestly didn't regret and even better, he wasn't looking at her any different.

She felt lighter, freer. There were still a lot of things that he didn't know, and that she wasn't sure she'd ever tell him, but it was fine. Because for now, _she _was fine.

~…~

They got back to the café, only to see that Dr O and Kim had showed up, as well as Kat and Trini.

"Hey, where'd you guys go?" Ethan asked as the two walked over to the group.

"We went for a walk," Conner said as he sat down and tugged on Kira's arm until she was in his lap.

Kim looked over at the two and her eyes narrowed as she scanned them. Something was off about the two of them. She could sense that something had shifted.

"Oh my God!" Tommy's voice drew Kim from her musings and they all turned to look at him, but said guy was looking at the door, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"What is it?" Kat asked.

"It can't be," Tommy whispered as he got up from the group and walked over to the man he saw standing there, "Anton Mercer."

Anton looked up when he heard his name, "Oh. Tommy Oliver. How nice to see you." He shifted his attention back to the phone in his hand.

"Dr O, you know my dad?" Trent asked as he looked from his father to his teacher and back.

"Dad?" Tommy questioned with a frown. The last he knew, Anton didn't have a son. "Anton look, about what happened on the island. I really thi—

"Look," Anton cut Tommy off, and not kindly, "things happen, but it's done. I've got to go. I've got things to do." He turned to his son, "I'll see you at home."

With that, the man walked out the café without a backward glance.

"I have to go back to work," Trent sighed as he disappeared back into the crowd.

"That was weird," Kim commented from Tommy's side. "He acted like he didn't know you and he could barely stand to be around you."

"What was up with that?" Trini looked at Tommy.

"I really don't know," Tommy shook his head with a sigh.

"Guys," Hayley said as she hurried over to them, "Monster attack downtown."

"Let's go," Tommy told the teens.

"Be careful," Kim told him.

"Always," Tommy smiled and pressed a quick kiss to Kim's cheek.

The four rangers hurried from the café, leaving Kim, Kat and Trini to stare after them.

"So," Kat said after a few minutes, "to the Centre to monitor them?"

Kim smiled over at her best friend, "PC, sometimes you have the best ideas. Let's go."

The girls shared a laugh as they said goodbye to Hayley and hurried from the café.

~…~

When the rangers got to where the monster was attacking, Kira froze when she saw one of the victims.

"What is it?" Conner asked as he nudged her shoulder.

"That's Kylee," Kira breathed out as she pointed out the aged woman.

"What?" the blue ranger's helmet swivelled from Kira to the woman and back.

"_Guys," Billy's voice sounded over the communicators._

"What is it Billy?" Tommy answered.

"_The monster, Donkeyvac as it calls itself, steals people's youth," Billy said, "So be careful."_

"Got it," Conner replied. He turned to his teammates, "Kira, why don't you get Kylee out of here while we take care of this dude. When you get her somewhere safe, join us."

"Got it!" Kira nodded and she ran over to the aged pop star. "Come on. I need to get you out of here so that my teammates can do their jobs."

The aged pop star stared at the yellow ranger. There was something about her voice that was familiar, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

Instead, she shook her head and glanced down at her body and then started crying, "Look at me! I'm _old_! H-how is this possible?"

Kira couldn't help but to snort, "Welcome to Reefside; home of the Power Rangers and where anything and everything weird happens. You're lucky to be alive."

"Oh who cares?" Kylee snapped, "I'm all wrinkly and ugly! What about my music and my fans? I can't let them see me like this! _I_ can't even stand to me looking so…so…_old_!"

Kira held back the growl. She couldn't believe that Kylee was going on about her looks. _'Actually…I can believe. It just shows that she hasn't changed a bit.'_

"What happened to you?" Kira asked, the question flying out before she could stop it.

Kylee glared at the yellow ranger, "Are you blind? Can't you see? That-that _thing_ did this to me!"

"I don't mean that," Kira corrected herself, "I meant, you haven't changed at all, have you? You're still that self-centred, arrogant, selfish person!"

Kylee gasped in shock. She couldn't believe that someone was talking to her like that. Didn't that yellow ranger know who she was?

"Now you listen here!" Kylee said, "I may be old right now, but I'm still Kylee Styles and nobody talks to me like that."

"You're old alright," Kira replied, "but you're still a spoiled brat that thinks everything should be hers. You haven't changed a bit! Not everything is about you Kylee! Do you even think about the people you hurt to get to where you are? The fans you ignore?"

Kylee couldn't reply to the accusations, as much as she wanted to.

Kira couldn't stop. It's like a dam had been broken and she was finally getting the chance to say to Kylee everything she'd wanted.

"God!" Kira continued, "I can't think of a better person who deserved this than you!"

"How dare you?!" Kylee snapped.

"Just shut up!" Kira yelled, "Not everything is about bloody you! Do you even think about your actions and the consequences they have on others?"

Kira's chest heaved as her emotions spiralled. Being in front of Kylee, and that talk with Conner earlier fresh in her mind, was bringing back up all those emotions.

"Do you think about her?" Kira asked, "That girl, your _friend_ whose life you ruined? All for some competition?!"

Kylee's eyes filled with confusion and she rolled them. "What girl?"

"Kira Ford!" Kira snapped, "Your childhood friend who you sold out just to win a competition!"

At the name, Kylee's wrinkled face paled. She hadn't thought about Kira in a long time. For a long time she had felt so guilty about what she had done. Even as she went to more and more competitions and her career kept going, she still had the guilt until she had pushed it all away, opting to forget about Kira and what she had done until she barely remembered the girl that had been her best friend, and biggest competition.

Not wanting to hear what she was sure were excuses, Kira groaned and turned away from the pop star, "You know what? Just stay here and out of the way."

Nothing else was said and the yellow ranger re-joined her teammates.

~…~

Later, after the monster had been destroyed and all the aged people returned to their natural form, the gang was at the café enjoying their downtime.

Kira was on the stage getting ready to perform. As she turned her guitar, she looked up and saw her teammates and friends sitting in "their" spot and she couldn't help the rush of pleasure she felt.

It was still taking a while to fully sink in, but, she had realized that this group of former and current rangers would always have her back and would always be there for her. And they won't turn on her the way Kylee had, they won't treat her the way her parents did.

Her eyes caught Conner's and her breath hitched when she saw how his eyes lit up and he gave her an encouraging grin with a thumbs up. His pride and love for her still amazed her and she often wondered how she ended up with him, but she wasn't going to change it.

She would be his for as long as he wanted her.

"Ready Kira?" Tommy asked, drawing the teen out of her musings.

Kira looked over at her teacher and mentor and smiled. "Yeah Dr O, I'm ready."

Tommy grinned in response before moving to stand in front of the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen; Kira Ford."

Applause filled the air and Kira revelled in it. _This _was what it was all about and this was what she loved, and she wouldn't give it away. Kylee could have her pop star status and she would keep this.

Halfway through her performance, she realized that something was going on. She had seen the way her friends' eyes had widened, as well as some of the people in the café, but it was the glare on Conner's face that told her what was going on.

Throwing a glance to the side, she saw Kylee standing there and she almost stumbled in her words. Almost.

'_What the hell is Kylee doing here? I thought she left! No…she's not seriously doing what I think she—she really is! She's coming on stage!'_

Kira could only watch in disbelief as Kylee joined her on the stage, joining in on the song with her.

Despite her shock Kira kept singing, though she kept throwing glances at the pop star.

When the song was over, the crowd cheered loudly and Kira smiled and gave a nod. She allowed Kylee to hug her for a few seconds before she pulled away, removed guitar and left the stage, quickly heading for her friends.

Conner stood up when she approached and held out his hand to her.

Trembling slightly, Kira grabbed his hand and held tight, allowing him to pull her into his body for a tight hug.

"You ok?" Conner asked as he felt her body settle against his.

"Yeah," Kira whispered. She could feel the stares from the others, but ignored it. Right now, all she wanted was the comfort of her boyfriend's arms.

"I can't believe Kylee Styles sang with you!" Ethan gushed, looking from his friend to the pop star who was shaking hands with fans.

"I bet that was exciting!" Adam grinned at the teen. He wasn't the only one; the others were as well.

Truth be told, the only ones who _weren't_ grinning were Tommy, Kim and Conner.

Kim's eyes were narrowed on Kylee, her features pulling into a scowl, while Tommy was staring at his student.

"Kira?" Kylee called as she walked over to the group.

Kira stiffened in Conner's embrace. She did _not _want to talk to Kylee.

Kim threw a glance at the teen before stepping in front of her and Conner, stopping Kylee from getting closer.

"Yes?" Kim's voice was overly sweet, making the former rangers wince and shift slightly back.

Kylee couldn't believe the woman was actually stopping her from going to her friend. Didn't they know who she was? She looked down, ready to glare and yell at the woman, but she stopped when she caught the look on the woman's face.

There was something there, something in the woman's eyes that seemed to dare her to continue. Suddenly, she felt afraid and like she should turn around and leave.

But she couldn't.

Instead, she took a slight step back and shifted her gaze to Kira. The girl still hadn't turned to look at her. She frowned and tried again, "Kira."

Kira groaned as she pulled away from Conner's embrace and turned to face her former friend. "What do you want Kylee?"

Kylee was taken aback by the tone, but she was determined. "Can we talk? Please?"

"Why?" Conner demanded, glaring at the pop star.

"Guys," Kim placed a hand on the teen's arm, calming him, "Not here."

"Kim's right," Tommy nodded, "If Kira wants to talk to her, it's best to do it somewhere private."

"Kira?" Aisha turned to said teen, "Do you want to talk to her?"

Kira stared at the rangers, trembling slightly by the protective aura she could feel from them. She knew only Conner really knew why she didn't want to talk to Kylee. The others didn't, but they were still rallying around her.

This is exactly what she had been talking about. This right here, this feeling of love and protection…something she's never felt from her parents but she felt from this group.

"Not really," Kira answered at last, "But I will. But Kim and Dr O are right; not here."

"If she can wait," Hayley suggested, "I can close the café in a half an hour."

All eyes turned to Kylee.

"Can you wait?" Conner asked.

Before Kylee could answer, Kira did. "Hayley, as much as I would appreciate that, I can't let you do it. The café doesn't normally close until like nine and it's only after seven and I'm sure Kylee has places she needs to go."

"So what do you want to do?" Ethan asked.

"We can talk outside," Kira said.

"That's fine," Kylee nodded.

Kira looked up at Conner, "Come with me?"

"Like you had to ask," Conner smiled. "Let's go."

"We'll be back," Kira smiled at the group and then left, her and Conner leading the pop star outside.

"I don't like her," Kim remarked as she watched them leave.

The others chuckled at her words, but they didn't disagree.

~…~

When they got outside, Kira headed towards Conner's car which was parked just a short distance from the entrance, giving them a semblance of privacy.

Conner leaned against his car and Kira leaned against him, turning to face the pop star.

"Talk," Kira said.

Kylee resisted the urge to snap at the girl for talking to her like that. She had come to the café to make amends and that is what she planned to do.

"Kira," Kylee started, taking a step towards her former friend, "I know that things between us aren't good and it's mostly my fa—

"Mostly?!" Kira cut her off, hazel eyes flashing with anger and disbelief, "It's not _mostly_ your fault Kylee. It's _entirely _your fault! You broke my mother's vase and then you _lied _about it, getting me in trouble all for some stupid competition! Gosh, do you even know what happened because of your lie? Or did you just not care?!"

Kylee flinched away from the accusations. "I'm sorry Kira. I really am."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Kira scoffed.

Kylee shook her head, "No. And I don't blame you, but it's the truth. I haven't thought about that day in forever because I used to feel so guilty over it that eventually, I couldn't take the guilt anymore so I buried it. I buried it so far until I completely forgot about it and focused on my career. I was just a child then and I was spoiled and I just couldn't handle the fact that you were better than me."

'_And I paid for it,' _thought Kira. The memory of that day flashed across her mind and she felt the echoes of the pain she had suffered at the hands of her parents.

"From what I know about you," Conner spoke up, "you care about no one but yourself. So why are you doing this? Why are you here apologizing to Kira? After all this time, why now?"

Kylee couldn't help but to look the boy over and she realized just how attractive he was. If she had met him a week ago, she would've definitely made a move, but not now. She wouldn't do that, not only because she was trying to turn over a new leaf, but anyone with eyes could see just how much he cared about Kira.

Kylee sighed and walked over to lean against the car. She tipped her head back and looked up to the night, taking the cloudless sky and the countless stars.

"Earlier today something happened to me," Kylee started, "I came to do a signing and to promote my new CD and I admit, I was more concerned about getting more press than anything else. And then, this, _thing_ grabbed me and the next thing I know, I'm old.

"I was completely freaking out. But then, the power rangers showed up. They got me away from that monster. Well, actually, the yellow one did." She stopped and looked over at Kira, "She reminded me of you actually."

Kira's heart raced as she wondered if Kylee had figured out their secret. "She did?"

"Well not actually," Kylee corrected, "I mean, I don't know who it was because she was covered up, but something about her made me think of you. Anyways, she started talking and some of the things she said, it made me think; about my career, my actions and you. After I was turned back to how I am now, I started thinking, I mean really thinking about my life and my career. And I realized, the person who I was, the person who I had become, was not someone I liked.

"And then I thought about you and what I had done to you and all that guilt came rushing back and I felt so sick to think that I had done that to you…to us! I had thrown away our friendship just to advance myself. I thought about how close I came to losing my life and suddenly, nothing mattered. Not the fame, not the money, because I had all those but deep down, I wasn't happy. I walked around town, in disguise of course, and I saw you with your friends and I saw how happy and loved you were and I wanted that."

Kylee reached out and grabbed Kira's hand, "Kira, I am so, so sorry for what I did back then. I got you in trouble just so I'd win a competition and regret it so much. These last few hours all I've been doing is thinking and like I said earlier, I don't like who I was, nor who I've become. I am seriously so sorry and I know I don't deserve it, but, do you think you can ever forgive me?"

Kira stared at the girl that had once been her best friend, unable to believe what she was hearing. For a long time she had thought about what happen if she saw Kylee again and she had always wondered if the girl had felt any remorse for what she had done to her.

And here Kylee was, saying that she _did _feel remorse for what she had done. Of course the girl had no idea just what her lie had really done, but, she was here apologizing.

She pulled her hand away and turned to look up at Conner. She needed him to help her make a decision because she honestly had no idea what to do.

Conner looked down at Kira and saw the indecision in her eyes. Glancing briefly at Kylee, he tugged Kira around the other side of the car for some privacy.

"Are you ok?" Conner whispered.

"I don't know," Kira replied, "I mean, I never thought about this; that she'd be here apologizing for what she did even though she doesn't know exactly what her lie did. A part of me wants to tell her to take her sorry and just shove it, but—

"That's not who you are," Conner cut her off with a small smile. "As tough and standoffish as you appear to others, you have the second biggest heart and you care about people, especially the ones you consider your friends."

Kira let out a soft chuckle. "The second biggest heart? Who has the biggest?"

Conner grinned, "Kim of course. That girl is all heart."

Kira couldn't help but to laugh. It was true; she may have only known Kim for a few weeks, but the woman really did have the biggest heart. She was always smiling and always willing to help and was always in a good mood.

She sighed and bumped her forehead against Conner's chest, "What do I do?"

"Forgive her," Conner said, "if not for her, then for yourself. By doing that, you're removing the power of her over you. And just because you forgive you, it won't mean you'll forget what she did or accept her as a friend again."

As always, he found a way to calm her and help her make a decision. One that was the best for her.

"How is it you always know what to say?" Kira chuckled as she leaned against him. "You're always helping me make the best decisions and making me feel better."

"That's because I love you," Conner replied with a chuckle.

Kira froze. "What?"

Conner pulled away from the embrace, "Oh wow…that's not how I was gonna tell you."

"You love me?" Kira asked. Was this for real?

Conner sighed, "I do. What I feel for you, I've never felt this way before. And I'm positive I'm never gonna feel this way about anyone else. I know you may think it's too soon, but look at Kim and Dr O and the others; they've all been together since they were in high school. Kim told me that she knew Dr O was it for her from the start and it's the same with me. You're it for me Kira. And I know you have issues and that you might not want—

Kira cut him off with a kiss. She pulled back a few seconds after he responded, "I love you too."

Conner's smile was bright and huge, "You do?"

"I do," Kira nodded.

"So what do we say we finish up here and then go in and celebrate the fact that we love each other?" Conner suggested.

"I can do that," Kira smiled.

The two shared another kiss before they went back over to where Kylee was waiting.

"We were best friends," Kira started, "and you ruined that. But as much as I want to hate you, I can't. Seeing the person you were, or had been, gave me something to not be. I forgive you Kylee, and I accept your apology."

Kylee grinned and moved to hug her friend. "Thank you!"

Kira stepped back. "Just because I forgive you, doesn't mean it fixes anything. We're not friends anymore Kylee, and I don't think we ever will be again."

They were not what she wanted to hear, but Kylee knew they were more than she deserved. So, she gave a sad smile, "You're right of course. It was stupid of me to think that an 'I'm sorry' was going to fix things. But, I am glad you forgave me anyways. I uh, I think I'm gonna go. Before I do though, can I hug you?"

Kira nodded, "Sure. I'd like that."

The two girls hugged and both had smiles when they pulled away.

"It really was nice to see you again Kira," Kylee said.

"Same here Kylee," Kira replied, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Kylee smiled, "I'll see you. Bye."

"Bye," Kira waved.

Conner wrapped an arm around Kira's shoulders, pulling his girlfriend into his body. "So…"

Kira looked up at him as she wrapped an arm around his waist, "So, what?"

"Oh nothing," Conner grinned as he turned them back towards the entrance of the café. "It's just, you love me."

Kira ducked her head, feeling herself blush, "So? You love me first."

"What are you, five?" Conner chuckled as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "But you're right. I do love you."

The words sent a thrill through her and Kira couldn't help her thoughts. _'You were wrong mom and dad. Someone can, and did, fall in love with me. Conner loves me.' _

Smiling, Kira squeezed Conner's waist. "And I love you too."

Nothing else was said between them as they re-entered the café. They moved through the crowd, heading back to where the others were.

"Is everything ok?" Kim asked the moment they were close.

"Everything's fine," Kira nodded, smiling at the woman, "She just wanted to apologize."

"Well that's good," Trini said.

"Right," Aisha nodded in agreement, "shows that she's really not the same person she was a day before."

"We're not friends," Kira explained as she and Conner sat down, "but, now, we can both move on because we've made peace with our shared past."

"Glad to hear it," Kat smiled at the yellow ranger.

"So!" Rocky clapped his hands, "What do you guys want to do?"

"I'm too tired to do anything fun right now," Kim groaned.

"Aw come on Kim," Rocky pouted at his childhood friend.

"Sorry boy," Aisha grinned, not looking sorry at all, "But we're all gonna hang here until closing time and then we're going home."

Kira laughed at the look on Rocky's face and the others joined in as well.

The rest of the night was spent enjoying each other's company before heading to their homes.

~…~

The next few days were relatively easy for Kira. Her parents pretty much ignored her at home, and at school, the students were all talking about her performance with Kylee.

Everything was going great…until Friday afternoon when her dad came home.

Kira was in the kitchen getting something to eat. Conner had just dropped her off and neither of her parents were home, something that wasn't unusual, but that she enjoyed every time it happened.

She left the kitchen, a bottle of Snapple Strawberry Kiwi in her hand along with a sandwich, and headed towards the stairs. She hadn't even made it past the first step when the front door slammed open.

The noise startled her, and she jumped around to see her father storming into the house, the door slamming shut loudly behind him.

"Oh no," Kira whispered. Her father was angry, really angry, and that did not bode well for her.

Slowly, she tried to make her way up the stairs without alerting her father to her presence.

It was in vain.

"Kira Elizabeth Ford!" Patrick yelled from the kitchen, "Get down here…NOW!"

Kira whimpered and turned around, heading back towards the kitchen. Her steps were cautious and slow.

When she entered the kitchen, her father was leaning against the counter.

"Yes dad?" Kira answered. _'Please…not now…things were going so good…why now?'_

"What is this?" Patrick pointed towards the sink.

Kira swallowed heavily. She didn't have to look to know what he was pointing at. She had made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and had left the dirty knife and empty jar in the sink.

She had left them because she had thought she had had time to clean them back up before her parents got home because she knew that on Fridays, they weren't usually home until late.

Apparently, she had been wrong.

"D-dad I'm sorry," she stammered as she stepped further into the kitchen, "I was gonna clean it up. Promise!"

Patrick growled as he stomped towards his daughter, "We told you! We told you no mess! You ungrateful bitch!"

"Dad," Kira whimpered and tried to back away.

"Do you never listen?!" Patrick demanded as he raised his hand and backhanded his daughter.

Kira fell to the floor, holding her face as the tears fell. "I'm sorry."

Patrick walked over to his daughter, brought his foot back and kicked her. "Clean up this fucking mess!"

Glaring once more at his daughter, Patrick stormed out the kitchen and up the stairs to his room.

Kira waited until she heard the bedroom door slam shut before she carefully pulled herself off the ground. Crying softly, she slowly made her way to the sink to clean.

When she was done, she grabbed the mop and broom. She had dropped her juice and sandwich when her father had slapped her.

Every movement sent jolts of pain through her, but she knew she had to get it all cleaned up or she would get worse.

So, biting her lip to suppress the whimpers of pain, she slowly cleaned up the mess. She was dumping the pieces of glass into the trash when she heard the bedroom door open and shut.

Fear filled her and she hoped that her father wouldn't come back to the kitchen.

She held her breath, despite the fact that it was hurting her ribs, and listened as the footsteps came down the stairs and turned in the direction of the kitchen.

"No," the word slipped past her lips on a whisper and she pressed backwards into the counter.

Patrick appeared in the doorway. "This mess cleaned?"

She took a breath to compose herself, "A-almost."

"Good," Patrick nodded, his green eyes scanning the room before resting on his daughter, "Your mother and I will be gone for the next two weeks. Don't do anything that would require anyone to contact us. Do you understand?"

It was a warning. No one was to find her bruises.

"Yes sir," Kira nodded.

"Good," Patrick gave one last glare towards his daughter and then left the kitchen.

Kira waited until she heard his car pull out the driveway before she moved. She finished up the cleaning and left the kitchen.

She couldn't stay there. She had to leave.

There was only one place that came to mind.

Conner.

Holding an arm to her stomach, she carefully left the house and started towards the street that would take her to her boyfriend's house.

Fifteen minutes later, she got there and hoped that Conner's mom wasn't home as she knocked on the door.

Maybe the universe was smiling down at her because Conner answered the door.

"Hey," Conner smiled, but lost it the moment he took in the sight of his girlfriend and the bruise on her cheek. His eyes widened in disbelief and shock. "What the fuck?!"

Kira let out a sob.

"Come here," Conner grabbed her and pulled her into the house, leading her up the stairs and to his room.

"Is your mom here?" Kira asked, "Because she can't see me like this. No one can."

"She's not here," Conner answered absentmindedly as he led her to his bed before running to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit.

"Jesus Kira," Conner breathed out as he gently held her chin, turning her face to see the bruise better. "What the hell happened? Who hit you?"

"It was my dad," Kira answered, wincing as Conner cleaned her cut. "But it was an accident."

"An accident?!" Conner's eyes darkened, "Kira, this is _not _an accident! Your father hit you!"

"He didn't mean to," Kira insisted.

"We need to tell someone," Conner said.

Kira's eyes widened in fear, "No! We can't tell anyone! There's nothing to tell!"

"Nothing to tell?" Conner repeated, staring at his girlfriend in disbelief, "Kira, your cheek is bleeding!"

"Conner you have to promise me, you have to promise me you won't say anything!" Kira begged her boyfriend, hazel eyes filled with tears.

"Damnit Kira!" Conner cursed, "You can't expect me to keep quiet! He's hurting you!"

"No!" Kira shook her head as she reached out and grabbed his arm, "He's not! It was an accident Conner. He didn't mean to do it! He was angry and when he's angry, he moves his hands all over the place. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn't mean it."

"Kira," Conner whispered as he pulled her into his body, "I love you, ok. And I hate the idea of someone hurting you."

"I know," Kira whispered back as she buried her head in his chest, "but you don't have to worry. It's not gonna happen again."

Conner pulled back from the hug and gently cupped her cheek, his thumb sweeping gently over the bruise on it, "I'm your boyfriend; it's my job to worry. God…"

Kira closed her eyes, tears slipping out and running down to meet Conner's thumb, "It's ok. I'm fine."

She reopened her eyes, "I love you."

"I love you too," Conner replied.

"So please," Kira looked up into his eyes, "promise me you won't say anything to anyone? Please…"

Conner closed his eyes briefly, "Fine. But, you have to promise me something too."

"What?" Kira asked.

"If this happens again," Conner looked at her, making sure she understood he was serious, "we're not keeping quiet. We're going to Dr O and the others for help."

"Ok," Kira nodded, "but it won't happen again."

Conner sighed and hugged her again, "Good. I can't lose you Kira."

"I can't lose you either," Kira replied as she hugged him back.

Later that night, they were both lying on Conner's bed. The TV was on but neither was watching; Conner was sleeping and Kira was watching Conner.

After checking to make sure he was deeply asleep, she slowly and carefully eased out from under him.

Standing, she made her way over to his mirror and stared at her reflection. Her gaze caught the bruise on her face and she was so thankful that it was Friday and she would have the next two days to fix it so it wasn't noticeable.

Slowly, she lifted her shirt and lightly touched her side and the bruise already forming. She winced at the pain and let her shirt drop.

Wiping her tears, she went back to the bed and eased back in beside Conner. As his arms came up around her, she swallowed the pained noise when his arm brushed her bruised ribs—she had enough experience to know when they were just bruised or broken—and wiped the fresh tears away.

She knew that she couldn't let him find out that the true extent of her injuries and that she had lied to him.

It _hadn't _been an accident. Her father had hit her on purpose. It wasn't the first time, and it definitely wouldn't be the last either. There would be a next time. And next time, she wouldn't make the same mistake she had made now. Next time, she wouldn't let Conner see the bruises.

Next time, she'd do a better job of hiding because no one could know what really happens in her house.

* * *

**A/N 3: **that's the chapter! What did you think? How did you guys like the insight into Kira's home life and the twist that I did with the whole Kylee Styles debacle? That scene with Kira and Conner in the car, when I was writing it, it reminded me of the scene in _Healing a Broken Crane_ when Tommy found out about the rape—it had me tearing up.

Anyways, review and let me know what you thought. Again…sorry for the wait.

_Kila_


	7. White with Evil

**Setting: **Dino Thunder; starts with the 'Moon Mission' and continues on through DT.  
**Story Summary: **Through unexpected situations, some of the former rangers are called back to action. They did their duty and life went on, but trouble stirs as a former ranger stumbles across a new power source. With the help of friends—near and far—they will create and mentor three teens into becoming the newest members of the ranger family. This is the story of the Dino Thunder Rangers.  
**Chapter: 7: **White with Evil  
**Episode Counterpart: 11-13: **White Thunder Parts 1-3, with slight mention of episodes 6-10.  
**Chapter Word Count: **6,427

**A/N: **here's the new chapter. Really sorry for the long ass wait! In all honesty, I had finished this like late Sunday night, but I decided to wait until today to post it; one, and main reason being, I had the first of my midterms exams Monday, so I had to study (I got 86%!...go me! Lol), and two, Tuesday is normal posting date, so I figured, 'what the hell'.

Again, so sorry guys for the wait. Now…enjoy! And thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and pretty much loved this story so far! You guys are awesome!

**Disclaimer: **Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban. I am not making any money from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"Speaking"  
_"Speaking over the phone"_  
_'Thinking'_

**O.P.D.: **_Tuesday 15__th__ October, '13._

* * *

_Previously on ADD;_

_-pop star Kylee Styles shows up with a connection to Kira_

_-Conner gets an insight into Kira's life_

_-Kylee and Kira make amends_

_-Conner finds out a little more about the abuse but Kira asks him to keep it a secret_

* * *

Trent sighed as shifted in the chair, easing the slight pain in his back. He was at the café, early, to avoid being around his father. Things between them had been a little tense lately, what with Trent wanting to draw and pursue a career in art while his father hated that idea and wanted him to go into business.

He hated fighting with his father, but lately, that seemed to be all they had been doing. And his issues with his father wasn't the only thing that was on his mind either. He'd been thinking a lot about Kira.

He couldn't get the dirty-blonde teenage off his mind. Every time he saw her, he became more and more infatuated with her. Unfortunately, Kira was dating Conner. He had seen the two of them together, and he had to admit that they made a cute couple, but that did nothing to stop his feelings for her from growing.

He'd tried, several times, to go up to her to talk, but he was always rebuffed. Not that it was done intentionally, but Kira always seemed distant, except when she was with Conner and Ethan or Kim and Hayley or one of the other older people.

No matter how much he tried, he just couldn't reach Kira; even though she was friendly to him, she still kept a distance between them.

It often frustrated him, but he never gave up.

The thing that got him was, he truly couldn't understand what Kira saw in Conner. Sure they made a cute couple, but that meant nothing. Conner was a jock, the king of all jocks to be precise. He practically ruled the school, or he could if he really wanted to.

And Kira; she was a loner, like him, and she didn't care what anyone thought of her. She marched to her own drum and he really admired that about her.

But that was why he couldn't understand just _why_ or _how _she and Conner were a couple. As far as he knew, they had nothing in common. Conner was all about sports, especially soccer, and Kira was all for her music.

So, on top of his father's displeasure for his art and the pressure to go into the family business, and Kira and Conner being a couple and his own unrequited feelings for her, Trent was not having a good time.

"Trent?" a voice called questioningly, and he looked up to see Kimberly walking towards him.

"Hey Kim," he greeted, "What are you doing here?"

Kim folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at the teen, "Well, other than the fact that I co-own this café, Hayley had to do something this morning so she asked me to open for her. What are _you _doing here? Did you even go home last night?"

Trent sighed and rubbed his eyes, "No."

Kim pulled up a chair and sat in front of him, "And why didn't you go home?" she paused and then leaned forward a little, her eyes filled with concern, "Is everything ok with you and your dad?"

Trent couldn't help the snort, "Sure…I mean, as long as I do what _he_ wants and just forget about what _I _want, then yeah, everything is just fine!" he sighed and ran a hand over his face, "Sorry."

"It's fine," Kim waved his apology away, "trust me when I say I understand all about parental issues."

The notebook in front of him caught her attention and she leaned forward and grabbed it. She thumbed through it, making little noises of appreciation and awe at every page, "Trent…this is amazing! You're really good!"

Trent flushed, "thanks. Unfortunately, my father doesn't think so. He wants me to forget all about my "silly art" and focus on something that would get me a real job; like working for him."

Kim looked up at him, "Well doesn't he know how talented you are, because these really are very good. You could definitely make a career out of this."

"Oh he knows I can draw," Trent replied, "but he thinks it should be more like a hobby rather than anything solid or real."

Kim felt her heart clench at the desolate tone to the teen's voice and felt an anger towards his father. He was destroying his son and he wasn't even seeing it, and if he was, he didn't care.

"Trent listen to me, ok?" Kim near pleaded as she reached out and grabbed his hand, "You are very talented and you shouldn't let anyone, especially your father, put that talent down or make you feel bad about it. And I know he's your father, but don't let him run your life. This is _your _life and _your _future, not his, and you should be able to live it however you want. And if art, more specifically graphic comics judging by your work, is what you want to do, then go for it."

Trent smiled up at the older woman, "Thanks Kim. I'll keep that in mind."

"You do that," Kim grinned at him before handing him back his book and standing up, "Well, I've got to finish getting ready to open up. Are you going to head home to get changed?"

"I'll help you and then do that," Trent offered as he closed his book and stood.

"You're sure?" Kim raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah," Trent nodded, still smiling. "I'm sure."

"Ok then," Kim smiled, "Let's get to it."

The two shared smiles and then went about getting the café ready to open. They managed to get everything set up by opening time and Trent left, with a promise to return later that afternoon to help.

~…~

After helping Kim, Trent went home. He wasn't really looking forward to having another argument with his father, but he knew it was unavoidable.

"And where have you been?" Anton asked as he came down the stairs, eyes trained on his son.

"I was at the café helping Kimberly," Trent replied as he turned to go into the living room.

"All night?" Anton raised an eyebrow, though Trent couldn't see it as his back was to his father.

"Yes dad," Trent answered, dropping onto the couch. He glanced down at the coffee table and remembered Kim's words, "Dad we need to talk."

"What about?" Anton asked, already turning to leave the room.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Trent got up and followed his father, "About our last conversation."

"There is nothing else to discuss," Anton said, "I would've thought I made my point pretty clear."

"I don't care!" Trent snapped, "I'm an artist, ok? Drawing is what I love to do and I don't appreciate you just dismissing it because _you _think it's not a good venture. Can't you just support me in what I want to do?"

"Not when what you plan to do has no future and is not a respectable career choice," Anton replied in a bored tone as he stopped and turned to face his irate son.

"So what?" Trent demanded, quickly becoming frustrated and angry with his father, "It's my choice! Why can't you just let me live my life how _I _want to and choose the career that _I _want to instead of trying to push me to do what you want to do?"

"We are not talking about this anymore Trent," Anton glared at his son, "I've made my decision. End of discussion."

Trent opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he took notice of his father's features; the man was slightly sweaty and looked on the verge of throwing up. Instantly, all frustration and anger fled, as concern filled him.

"Dad, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Anton waved the concern away and turned and headed to his home office.

Trent stared after the man in confusion. His concern took precedent and before he could talk himself out of it, he followed after his father.

He got to the office just in time to see his father disappear in a green Invisiportal.

"What the fuck?!" Trent was completely floored. This was _not _what he had expected when he followed after his father.

Still concerned, Trent decided to follow his father. If seeing his father disappear into the portal was not what he had been expecting, then _this _took the cake!

He was in a lab, with beakers and chemicals all around. The entire thing had a really creepy vibe.

"What is this place?" Trent whispered to himself as he cautiously walked around. He felt a pull coming from a specific side of the room. Curious and confused, he slowly walked over to a table in the corner of the lab.

As he got closer, he felt the pull getting stronger. He stood in front of the table staring at the box that held a white gem as well as a silver band.

"What is this?" he muttered, slowly reaching out his hand towards it. Before he could even touch it, a bright white light filled the room.

When the light disappeared, Trent was standing there, his hands up over his face covering his eyes.

"What the hell just happened?" he swallowed and glanced around the room. As he brought his hands down, he noticed that the silver band was around his wrist and that the white gem was inside of the ban.

Confused, and now a little scared, he desperately tried to tug the ban off, but to no avail.

A noise outside the room startled him and he whirled around, breathing heavily and completely terrified at the thought of whoever that could be. He panicked as he heard the noise coming closer, but before he could even make a move to run, he disappeared in a beam of white light.

Just seconds later, Elsa and Zeltrax walked into the room. Zeltrax stayed by the door while Elsa walked around the room with suspicious eyes. She could've sworn she had heard someone in here just now.

When she got to the table where the White Dino gem had been, her eyes widened and she let out a loud gasp.

"What is it now?" Zeltrax growled out, his impatience with Elsa colouring his tone.

Elsa whirled around and glared at him, "The gem…it's gone!"

"What do you mean it's gone?" Zeltrax demanded as he stomped over to her. He looked down at the table and froze.

"That's what I meant!" Elsa hissed, "We need to find it before the Master realizes it's missing."

"It was your job to keep an eye on it!" Zeltrax turned to Elsa.

Said woman sneered, "Do you really think the Master is not going to punish you as well for this?"

Zeltrax growled to himself because he knew she was right. Even if Elsa had been the one ordered to not let anything happen to the gem, he would be punished for this transgression.

"So how do we find who took the gem?" Zeltrax asked.

"Easy," Elsa smirked, "We send down a monster to lure them out."

Zeltrax nodded. It was a good plan. With the altercations they had done to the gem, whoever had it would find it difficult to resist the urge to fight.

"Then let's do that," Zeltrax said.

~…~

Tommy sighed as he sat in front of the computers at the Command Centre. A few days ago, there had been an explosion in the woods, but by the time he and the other rangers had gotten there, there had been nothing. Although, he had suspected that the explosion had been a new Dino gem.

But he had no idea where the gem went or who had it. He just hoped that whoever's hands the gem ended up in was an ally and not an enemy.

A quick glance at the clock showed that it was a little after twelve. He went through the system one last time before deciding to head in town to the café to have lunch with Kim.

That was not to be.

He had just gotten into a town when an explosion rocked the ground and sent his jeep swerving.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed as he tried to stop the jeep from spinning completely out of control.

Finally getting the car under control and stopping it, he quickly got it and eyed the monster he could see attacking the town.

Bringing his wrist to his mouth, he contacted the rangers, "Guys, monster's attacking downtown."

"_On our way," Conner replied._

"DINO THUNDER, POWER UP!"

Confident that the rest of his team would arrive soon, and wanting to stop the monster from destroying anymore of the town and possibly hurting people, Tommy attacked.

He pulled out his blaster and fired at the thing, gaining its attention. "Hey!"

The monster was thrown back from the blast, but got back to its feet as quick as it could. "Oh look; a ranger."

"Not just one," Ethan quipped as he and the others arrived. "Four."

"Ooh goody!" the monster laughed, "more toys for me to play with."

"No," Ethan shook his head.

Growling, the monster attacked and the rangers fought back.

It seemed as if to the rangers, maybe Mesogog was getting smarter because the monster was a lot more difficult than normally.

Hallway through the fight, the white ranger showed up, but he never joined in. Instead, he stayed in his position, on top one of the buildings, and watched the battle between the rangers and the monster. He watched as the fight continued on and saw that the rangers were going to win.

He decided it was time to join.

The fight escalated, but the rangers soon gained ground and were in control of the fight. They advanced on the monster, getting ready to destroy it, but before they could, the white ranger stepped in.

The rangers were shocked to see the white ranger, but their shock soon turned to joy and satisfaction when they saw the ranger fight against the monster and destroy him.

"Wow man thanks," Conner said, "It's nice to have another ranger on our team."

The white ranger turned to them and chuckled.

Immediately Tommy went still. The sound reminded him too much of his days as Rita's green ranger.

"Fools," the White Ranger chuckled, "I may be wearing this suit, but don't think I'm one of you. I work alone."

With that, he attacked.

At first, they had been too startled to fight back, but they quickly got over their shock and fought back.

But it meant nothing.

Every blow they tried to land was blocked and they found themselves on the ground almost immediately.

"Pathetic," the White Ranger sneered, "Just stay out my way rangers, before I really have to hurt you."

Having said that, he left.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Ethan groaned as he slowly got to his feet.

Tommy groaned as he stood up as well, "Let's go back to the café. I know today's Saturday, but I don't think it'll be full."

"Ok," Conner nodded. He looked around, making sure it was safe, and then he de-morphed.

The others followed.

"You guys ok?" Tommy asked, looking at his three students.

"We're fine," Kira nodded, leaning against Conner, "Let's just get to the café."

"Where's your car Conner?" Tommy asked.

"At the café," Conner replied, "We had just pulled into the parking lot when you called."

"Alright guys," Tommy sighed, "I'll give you a ride." And he led them to his jeep.

~…~

Trent stumbled out of the alleyway, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. Everything was so messed up. He was exhausted. His body was aching and his mind felt like it was being torn in two.

He glanced down at his wrist, eyes once again taking in the silver and the gem. He still had a hard time believing everything that had happened to him today.

Wait…was it just today? It felt like longer.

His mind felt muddled. He needed to talk to someone. But who?

Only name came to mind. She was the only person he felt he could trust with what was happening to him, who could maybe help him understand and figure out what to do.

Somewhat bolstered by that thought, he leaned off the wall and made his way to the café.

~…~

When Tommy and teens entered the café, they saw that Tommy had been right; they weren't that much people there.

They also drew the attention of Kim, Kat and Tanya.

"Oh my God are you guys ok?" Tanya asked, concern heavy in her voice as she stood up from her seat, along with Kat and Kim.

"We're fine," Tommy nodded. His eyes caught Kim's and they warmed, "I promise, we're ok."

"Where's Hayley?" Kira asked, looking around the café.

"She's in the back getting some stuff," Kat replied.

"What happened?" Kim asked as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to sit down, sitting next to him.

"Well," Conner spoke up, "Mesogog sent a monster and we fought."

"But you don't usually look this disturbed," Kat pointed out, "did something else happen?"

"Oh you mean other than the fact that there's a new ranger and he's apparently evil?" Ethan asked, "Yeah, nothing else happened."

"WHAT?!" Kat, Kim and Tanya echoed as one.

Their shout drew the attention of the occupants in the café, and also brought Hayley hurrying out.

"What? What is it?" the redhead asked as she hurried over to them after spotting them.

"There's a new ranger," Conner answered with a sigh, "but he's not on our side."

"Mesogog has the White Dino gem," Hayley said. Tommy had shared his concerns over the possibility of a new gem being discovered a few days ago.

"I don't think so," Kira said, "I mean, he showed up and fought against Mesogog's monster, but then he turned and fought us too."

"What?" Hayley looked between the rangers, now understanding why Kim, Kat and Tanya had shouted.

"I know," Ethan nodded, "So, now not only do we still have to deal with Mesogog, we have to deal with an evil white ranger too."

Tommy looked at Kim and the other two and knew they were thinking the same he was. If this was just like when he had been Rita's green ranger, then they were in trouble.

"We need to tell the others," Kat said as she rested her hand on her belly. At just over four months, her belly was just a little bump.

"I'll send a mass text," Tanya said, "to get everyone to meet Kim and Tommy's place later this afternoon."

"Not to change the subject," Hayley said, "but have any of you guys seen Trent? He was supposed to come back today to help out, not that we needed it, but after he left Kim this morning, he never came back."

All the teens shook their heads, "No, we haven't seen him," Kira was the one to answer.

"I hope he's ok," Kim bit her lip, "I know he's been having some trouble with his dad."

A cell phone went off and Kira jumped, before pulling hers out of her book bag. "It's a text from my mom. I have to go."

Conner made to stand up, "I'll take you."

Kira smiled over at her boyfriend, loving how protective and chivalrous he was, "It's fine. My mom is coming to get me."

"Alright," Conner nodded. He still hadn't forgotten what had happened a few weeks ago, but since then, he hadn't found any more bruises on Kira and she hadn't been as distraught as she had been then. "I'll see you later at Dr O's?"

"Yeah," Kira nodded, "I'll call you for a ride."

"Good," Conner smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, "See ya Superstar."

"Bye Jock," Kira smiled and stood, "I'll see you guys later."

"Later Kira," the others echoed.

Kira waved once more and headed towards the exit. She had just gotten outside and was heading towards the bench on the side to wait for her mom when she heard her name.

She turned and saw Trent heading towards her.

"Trent?" her brows furrowed as she took in his sweaty appearance, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Trent nodded, his dark eyes taking in her features. _'God she's beautiful.'_

"I just," he paused, "Can we talk? I really need to talk to someone."

Kira bit her lip, "Ok, but, can we talk later? My mom's coming to get me."

Trent nodded immediately, "That's fine. We can meet tomorrow at the park; you know, where that statue of the eagle is."

"Sure," Kira nodded.

A car horn sounded and both looked up to see dark sedan heading towards them.

"That's my mom," Kira said as she looked back towards the teen, "but yeah, I'll meet you tomorrow. Would eleven be ok?"

"Yeah," Trent nodded, "Thanks so much for this Kira. I just, I really do need someone to talk to and you're pretty much the only person I could think of."

"Let's go Kira!" Elizabeth shouted out her window.

"Coming mom!" Kira replied, already heading to the car, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Trent waved. He watched her get in the car and stood there watching her leave before he turned and left himself.

~…~

The next day, Kira made her way to the park. She was curious as to why Trent wanted to talk to her. Sure they knew each other, but she spent most of her time with Conner and Ethan and she and Trent didn't really spend a whole lot of time talking to each other.

It's why she had been shocked that he'd come up to her yesterday, wanting to talk. He had told her she was the only one he could talk to, but she really hoped it wasn't anything bad or something that he needed help with because she had her own problems, both at home and in her ranger life.

As she walked over to where she was supposed to meet Trent, she couldn't help but to think that she should've asked Conner to come with her.

It's not that she didn't trust Trent…well, maybe it was that. She didn't really know much about him, and truthfully, she wasn't comfortable being alone with a guy other than Conner, Ethan, Dr O or one of the former rangers.

She knew she could handle herself if he ever tried anything; those afternoons spent at the dojo was really helping her. But she was still wasn't near strong enough. She couldn't even fight off her parents if—no…she wasn't going to think about them.

"Kira."

Shaking her head, Kira looked up and saw Trent sitting on a rock.

"Hey," Kira greeted him, "Ok, so I'm here. What did you want to talk about?"

Trent bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair. "It's-I don't even know where to start. And I'm not even sure you'll believe once I tell you."

"Tell me what?" Kira looked at him with a frown, "Trent, what are you talking about? What's going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. Maybe," Trent stammered out.

Kira wrapped her arms around her waist and took a slight step back from the teen. She _really _wished she had asked Conner to come with her.

"Trent," Kira started, "I don't want to sound rude or anything, but you said needed to talk to someone and you kinda looked a little freaked and now you're not saying anything."

Trent stood up and took a step towards Kira, reaching out to grab her arms.

Kira immediately stepped back, her heart pounding, "Please don't touch me." She took some deep breaths to calm her racing heart, "I don't like being touched."

Trent stopped at her words and stared at her. "Conner touches you."

"He's different," Kira said, not sure why she was explaining anything to him.

"Why, because he's your _boyfriend_?" Trent spat bitterly, suddenly angry at her.

Kira took another step back. The look on his face kinda scared her a little. It wasn't a look she'd ever seen on his face before, she'd seen it enough on her parents' face.

"Look Trent," Kira said, taking another step backwards, "I came because we're friends and you said you needed someone to talk to. But so far, you haven't said anything."

Trent turned away from her and looked out over the lake. He brought his hands up to his chest and shifted his sleeve so that he could see the silver band on his wrist.

He still could see her pulling away from him. All because he wanted to touch her. He didn't buy her excuse about Conner being different because he'd seen Ethan touch her too and she didn't react that way.

So it was just him. She didn't want _him _to touch her. He still couldn't understand what was so special about Conner anyways. _He _was a better boyfriend for her because they had more in common.

Unconsciously, Trent straightened out.

No…he couldn't tell her. She wouldn't understand, and she'd probably run to her _boyfriend_.

No…it was best he kept this to himself.

"You're right," Trent nodded without turning around, "I think I made a mistake."

"What?" Kira's brows furrowed together. Something wasn't right. Trent sounded…different.

"You can go," Trent told her, finally turning around.

"But I thought you wanted to talk?" Kira asked. Her eyes scanned his face and she saw that he not only sounded different, but he looked different as well. It wasn't like this change in features or anything, it was his eyes; there was a change in his eyes. One she didn't like.

"I changed my mind," Trent shrugged. He turned and grabbed his art pad from the rock. "See ya."

Kira watched in confusion as he walked away from her. _'What the hell just happened?'_

Her phone rang and she absentmindedly pulled it from her pocket. "Hello?"

"_Hey Superstar," Conner greeted with a smile._

An instant smile came on Kira's face, "Hey Jock. What's up?"

"_Ethe and I are heading over to Dr O and Kim's," Conner said, "Are you busy today or can you come?"_

"I have nothing to do," Kira told him, "you have to come get me though; I'm at the park. The east entrance."

"_I'll be there in ten minutes," Conner said._

"See you then," Kira smiled and hung up. Her gaze shifted back to where Trent had gone and frowned.

She _still _couldn't make sense of what had just happened. Trent had started out his normal self, maybe a little more flustered, but just now, at the end, he had seemed a little, well, cold, and frightening.

Her phone buzzed with a text.

_We're at the parking lot._

Shaking her head, Kira left the spot and headed towards where her boyfriend and friend were waiting.

~…~

A few days later and Kira still couldn't shake what had happened at the park with Trent from her mind. Which was something considering that they'd been getting their asses kicked by this new white ranger.

It's like, every week was something new in the ranger world; just a few weeks ago, Ethan had been sucked into a video game, then Anton had tried to buy the café—he had quickly forgotten about that when Kim had gone off on him, she'd never seen the older woman so angry and she hadn't blamed Anton for quickly backing off—then, some actress had gotten kidnapped and Elsa had messed with them by switching out a Dino egg.

And now, there was this new ranger who just happened to be evil. But it's not like he was on Mesogog's side either; he was fighting against all of them.

'_And winning. Even Dr O can't fight him…or maybe he doesn't really want to.'_

Sighing, she walked into the café, smiling when she saw Kim.

"Hey Kim," she greeted.

"Hey Kira," Kim smiled when she saw the teen, "Banana smoothie?"

"Yep," Kira nodded as she took a seat at the counter.

"Hey have you seen Trent?" Kim asked as she made the smoothie.

"No," Kira shook her head, "Why?"

"He hasn't been to work since Saturday," Hayley replied as she walked up to the counter with an empty tray. "Can I get two vanilla smoothies and two bran muffins?"

"Sure," Kim nodded as she grabbed the muffins and went about making the smoothies.

"Well he's been in school," Kira replied, "but none of us have really talked to him. Or rather, we tried but he kept brushing us off."

Kim bit her lip as she listened to Kira. This was all sounding very familiar to her. She handed Kira her smoothie and went to finish up the two for Hayley.

"Well if you see him," Hayley said as she grabbed the smoothies from Kim, "tell him he needs to start showing up, or we're going to have to find a replacement."

With that, she disappeared into the small crowd.

Kira looked up at Kim, realizing that the other woman had been silent for a while now. "Kim, are you ok?"

"Hmm?" Kim blinked and looked over at the teen, "yeah, I'm just thinking." Her brows furrowed, "Kira, tell me again how Trent's been acting?"

Kira frowned at the question, and again as she recalled the teen's actions. "He's been weird the last few days. I saw him Saturday and he asked to talk to me, so we met at the park on Sunday and he was really weird then too. I mean, you know Trent. He's quiet and doesn't really say much or draw much attention to himself. But this was even different. He was acting all nervous and scared, but then, all of a sudden, he was different."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked.

Kira's frown deepened, "Ok so at the start of the conversation, like I said, he was acting jittery and real nervous and he looked almost scared. But then, it was like a switch had been flipped. He seemed colder somehow." She shook her head, "And now, add in how he's been the last four days…it's like a totally different Trent."

"How has he been acting?" Kim asked. Something was tugging at the back of her mind.

"Well," Kira explained, "On Monday, I tried to talk to him, well, Conner, Ethan and I did, but he completely blew us off. I mean, he was acting so weird. He was almost indifferent, like he didn't care. And the way he talked, it was kinda mean and cold sometimes. After that, whenever he saw one of us, he would smirk or just stare before turning around; like he was avoiding us."

Kim remained silent as she thought about Kira's words. It really did sound a little bit familiar to her. Memories from her time in high school rushed through her and her eyes went wide.

"Kim?" Kira called questioningly when she saw the expression on the woman's face.

"Tell Hayley I'll be back!" Kim shouted as she took off her apron and ran from the cafe.

Kira watched her go with pure confusion.

Seconds later, her communicator went off.

~…~

Kim hurriedly cross the street, after a quick look to make sure nothing was coming, and rushed into the dojo.

She saw Adam and Zack with a couple of students and looked around for Jason. She spotted him coming back from the office.

"Jason!" she shouted to get his attention as she made her way over to him.

Jason looked up at the shout and he started to smile, but it stopped and he frowned when he took in the expression on his sister's face. "Kim, what is it?"

Kim looked around and saw that they had gotten the attention of the students. She knew just how kids were and how they listened, and repeated everything, they heard so she couldn't say anything. And Kat was probably in the office, the only office, with Desiree.

"I think you need close the dojo early," Kim whispered urgently.

"What? Why?" Jason replied, completely puzzled.

"We need to talk," Kim answered, "all of us; it's about the newest colour that popped up."

Jason looked completely confused for a few minutes before it sunk in. "Why? What's going on? Did you find out something?"

"Major," Kim nodded, "If I'm right, and I'm positive I am, then we need to discuss this because we'll have our work cut out for us."

Jason nodded. He turned and headed towards Adam and Zack and explained the situation to them before going in the office to where Kat and Desiree were.

It took about twenty minutes to get everyone ready to go, and another ten to wait for the school bus to pick up the kids.

The entire time, Kim was antsy. She was in a hurry to get back to the house.

Ten minutes later, everyone was gone and the dojo was locked up.

Kat had made the calls to the others; Trini was already at the house and the others would meet them there. Hayley would be by later as she had to help out at the café since she was now down two people.

Twenty minutes later, the cars pulled into Kim and Tommy's yard.

Kim was the first out of her car and into the house, the others following behind immediately.

The group rushed down to the basement and saw Trini at the computers.

"What's going on?" Adam asked.

"As always," Trini replied, "Some weird monster."

"Did the white ranger show up?" Kim asked as she walked over to her sister.

"Well, he did briefly," Trini answered, "but he only stayed for like five or ten minutes before he left again. It's like he's taunting them."

Kim leaned over Trini's shoulder as she watched the fight. She wanted to tell them her suspicions, but she didn't want to distract them from the fight. She would wait until it was over; she just hoped the white ranger didn't show up again.

"What's going on?" Aisha asked as she led the others down the stairs about five minutes later.

"Yeah, what was with that cryptic phone call from Kat?" Rocky asked as he looked around at his friends.

"We don't know," Zack shrugged, "Kim showed up at the dojo, said she had something to talk to us about and that it had to do with the white ranger."

"What is it Kim?" Tanya asked.

"Not yet," Kim shook her head as she turned to her friends, walking away from Trini to stand in the middle of the room, "I think we all need to hear this and I really don't want to repeat myself. Let's wait until the others are done with their monster."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, did the rangers finally destroy the monster.

With the fight over, Trini set the computer to idle and turned around to face the others. She saw the looks on their faces and knew they were just as curious as she was. Her eyes drifted over to Kim and she watched as her friend paced back and forth.

Seconds later, the rangers teleported into the room.

"Where's Tommy?" Kim asked the moment she saw them, realizing that her fiancé wasn't with them.

The rangers powered down with a groan as they felt the pain of the battle settle in.

"I don't know," Ethan shrugged, "he told us he'd meet us here and then he left."

Kim groaned and raised her wrist to her mouth, "Tommy?"

~…~

Tommy let out a groan as he made his way to the warehouse. His entire body ached and he knew it would only be worse once he de-morphed. He was _not _looking forward to that. This was one of the things that he did not miss about being a ranger.

When he got to the warehouse, he was completely shocked, and confused, to see the fossil finder attached to some kind of gadget.

"What the hell?" he mumbled as he walked over to it.

His communicator beeped. _"Tommy?"_

"Hey Kim," Tommy replied, "What's up?"

"_Where are you?" Kim asked._

"I'm at a warehouse," Tommy told her, "that fossil finder I told you about, I came to get it. Weirdest thing though, it's connected some kind of gadget."

"_You need to get back here," Kim said._

"Is everything ok?" Tommy asked, picking up on the slightly distressed tone in his fiancée's voice.

"_No," Kim answered, "Get back here now. It's about the white ranger."_

"What about the white ranger?" Tommy asked.

A noise from behind had Tommy turning and he saw Trent stumbling out towards him.

"Whoa are you ok?" Tommy asked as he rushed to help the teenager.

"I'm fine," Trent replied, "Just a little tired."

"You should get out of here," Tommy said, "it's not safe."

Trent didn't reply. Instead, his gaze moved to the machine behind the black ranger. "What is that?"

Tommy walked away from the teen and back over to the machine.

Trent followed him, standing behind the controls. "Whoa…this is kinda cool…and freaky."

"_Are you there?"_

"What was that?" Trent looked around.

Tommy cursed and stepped away from the teen. "I'm here."

With his back to Trent, he never saw the malicious smirk on the boy's face.

"What's going on B?" Tommy asked, "I'm kinda with Trent, so I can't talk."

_At the Command Centre, Kim froze, "Damnit! Tommy, get away from him!"_

"Why?" Tommy questioned, completely confused as to why she would want him away from the teen.

"_Because Trent is the White Ranger!" Kim hissed, shocking the basement._

Tommy froze. Wait...what? Did he just hear right? And then he heard it; a dark chuckle. He turned around just in time to see Trent morph into the white ranger.

"You rangers are too trusting," Trent chuckled. "Say goodnight." He pointed the machine at Tommy and fired.

Before Tommy could even move, the laser beam hit him and he was soon covered in an amber-like substance; the goo hardened immediately, trapping him inside and leaving him completely frozen, unable to move or call for help.

At the Command Centre, Kim let out a painful scream and fell to her knees as her connection to Tommy closed abruptly.

* * *

**A/N 2: **so…what'd you think? The scene with Kira and Trent at the park, I wasn't too sure it was ok, so if it reads off, I'm sorry. And don't worry, I am not making you guys wait another 4-5 weeks for an update; especially not the second part because I am super excited to see Kim kick some white ranger butt!

**A/N 3: **And please, new fans—if any, and old ones too—don't tell me that's not how the episode happened; I know. This story is pretty much a near complete AU of the DT era and I am doing it practically my way, as stated in previous chapters.

Now that you're at this point, review please…even if it is to cuss me out for the long wait lol. :)


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